Cheater
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: A hacker's life in the virtual world.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Late Start

Michael lay on his bed, his NerveGear buzzing as it started. He was in the hospital, under orders from the Japanese government to attempt to aid in ending Sword Art Online. It wasn't that he didn't want to enjoy a virtual reality video game, he just doubted he'd be much use after a year and a half of the game playing. In addition, he'd be starting as level one. He doubted there were any players below twenty six by now.

He sighed, closing his eyes before suddenly he was standing in a field. As expected, his avatar looked exactly like himself with short brown hair than hung just past the tops of his ears, bright blue eyes, and an average five seven build. His avatar had a default one handed sword and shield, as per his choice, and would soon specialize in speed, endurance, and lock-picking.

"Whoa!" Someone behind him gasped and he spun, hand twitching but he resisted the urge to grab his sword, on account of being level one. "You're...you're new! You just joined didn't you?"

The man was about his height and a few years older than him with spiky red hair, a thin chin-strip beard, and a warm smile.

"Uh, yeah," Michael nodded. "I'm Michael. I...um...came looking for a friend."

"Oh I see," the man nodded. "Name's Klein. This is my guild, Fuurinkazan."

Klein wore red samurai armor without the helmet, with his guild wearing similar attire, and held a katana.

"You're not going to be finding anyone with that gear and level," Klein continued. "Here. This should give you a head start but you'll need to work hard to level up."

Michael nodded as his inventory appeared, showing he had gotten a suit of complete armor along with a sword and shield. Once he had them all equipped, he was wearing a weaker version of Klein's armor with a plain-looking long-sword, and a rectangular tower shield that was about half his height and completely black

"Thanks," Kurai smiled. "I appreciate it. So, I guess I'll be going now. Um, which way to the next floor?"

"Next floor?" Klein blinked. "Even with better equipment you can't just start jumping floors. You'll get yourself killed!"

"I'm on a tight schedule," Michael stated. "I need to get a lot stronger as fast as I can. The higher the floor, the faster I level up. Besides, higher levels drop better equipment."

"That's true," Klein nodded. "Alright. It's about a mile that way."

He pointed and Michael nodded turning and sprinting away, glad that the only way to expend energy in the game was to use abilities. As he ran, a group of three wolves appeared and moved to attack him. The first leapt and he ducked, slashing its stomach as he passed under it. Then, he stood and slashed the second along the side. The third sprinted forward but he drove his sword down through its head. He pulled the sword back out of the ground, the bodies having all exploded into data fragments, and continued on his way. After a few minutes, he reached the path and a few moments later was on the second floor. He continued through that floor in much the same way but being a bit more careful with the enemies. It soon became apparent that the armor and sword and shield he had raised him to the equivalent of a level fifteen player. He had to smile at that. After a couple of hours, he stopped on Floor 4, already having fought his way to level four and had gained a better sword. He didn't find any better armor and doubted he would for a while.

"This isn't fast enough," Michael sighed as he sat below a tree, staring at the sky.

"You've been here for like, three hours," Klein stated stepping out from behind the tree. "I'm shocked you made it here alive."

"Thanks to your gear," Michael smirked.

"Been to a city yet?" Klein questioned.

"Not yet no," Michael said shaking his head.

"Come on," Klein said gesturing for him to follow. "It's this way."

Michael followed and after a few minutes, and two fights, they reached the nearest city and began to explore. Klein began to talk about a restaurant he knew in the city but Michael had stopped at a smith's shop.

"You sure you want to buy that?" the smith asked. "It's going to take all your money."

"I know," Michael smiled. "I'll take it."

The smith shrugged and approved the sale and Michael switched to his new sword, a Queen's Knightsword.

"Wow," Klein blinked. "Lucky find. I didn't even know you could buy that. I figured it was a quest only item."

Michael shrugged then followed Klein to a restaurant and Klein treated him to dinner.

"You going to continue?" Klein asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded.

"Alright," Klein sighed. "I know a guy who might sell you some stuff he has but doesn't need anymore. Hopefully it'll help. He may also be able to hook you up with a better smith."

Michael nodded and waved goodbye before turning to leave.

"Tell him to meet me on level six," Michael requested.

"Sure," Klein nodded. "See you around Michael. Good luck."

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. I'm adding a special event because SAO could have totally had this and rocked it. Now, my OC will have to do it.

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Death Day

Michael looked around again and sighed. He had been waiting for well over an hour after Klein had told him Kirito, Klein's possible supplier, had reached the town. No sign of Kirito. After a few more minutes, Michael stood to leave just as someone called out his name.

"You must be Kirito," Michael guess turning to the person.

He was a teen, roughly the same age as Michael with short black hair, a black trench coat, black boots, and a black longsword that Michael recognized as the Elucidator.

"Yes," Kirito nodded. "You're not the right level for this floor. Klein didn't mention that he gave you a head start. However, you're a bit late for the boss bonuses. Which means you'll need as much help as possible. Alright. What type of armor do you want?"

"I actually like the looks of that jacket," Michael stated. "And the sword, but mostly for the power."

Kirito smirked and opened his inventory, scanning through the items before sending Michael armor. Michael put it on and was suddenly wearing a black trench coat with studded blue shoulders, black fingerless gloves, and black combat boots with shiny metal studs.

"Not bad," Michael admired. "I like the endurance and speed boosts."

"There's a smith on Floor Forty Eight," Kirito stated. "She'll upgrade your sword for you if you have the money, or you're with me. Good luck getting there, though."

"At this level?" Michael snorted. "No way. But I'll level up as I go."

"I knew a guy that played like you," Kirito noted. "He died. Take the time to level up. A day per level should be fine since you should still be on level two."

"If you say so," Michael nodded. "See you around Kirito."

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "I have to go. See you."

Michael nodded and Kirito left. Michael looked around then headed out of the city and toward the dungeon to the next level. Just as he reached it, the sky turned dark and storm clouds began to gather. Then, a glowing white screen appeared somewhere near the middle and an announcement wrote itself out on it.

"Attention: Day of the Dead event shall begin in one minute."

Michael blinked in confusion, having no idea what Day of the Dead was. He went into his inventory and got out the info handbook the betas had made and he had been given. Just as he got it out, the announcement flashed and he looked up.

"Day of the Dead event beginning in thirty seconds."

He flipped through it until he found the event.

"Day of the Dead: zombies and skeletons rise for twenty four hours," the handbook read. "All city safety boundaries are restricted to inns. All NPCs will be removed and will respawn after the event."

Michael groaned and looked up at the announcement as it began counting down from ten.

"Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Day of the Dead commencing. Have a nice day."

Michael snorted at the irony in the last statement. Then, he lowered his eyes to the ground as the screen disappeared and hands began to break out of the ground. Slowly, zombies and skeletons began to drag themselves out of the ground, all groaning and moaning like stereotypes, which they really did look like. The zombies were all green or grey with tattered clothes, muddy hair, blood stains everywhere, and chunks missing from their skin revealing muscle and bone, where they had supposedly been bitten, despite having been buried. The skeletons, on the other hand, were all bleached white, despite the mud, carried chipped and worn, yet still sharp, double-edged bastard swords, and some had a helmet, chest plate, boots, or a round shield about two feet in diameter.

Michael backed away from the undead then spun, using his shield to block a skeleton's and killed it, happy to find they were relatively weak. Then, he spun, using his shield again to block a zombie from biting him. Michael growled in annoyance, backing away to gain enough time to switch to offense then stepped forward, ducking under a skeleton's sword then slashed it and the zombie. Then, he spun, slashing another zombie trying to kill him. He ducked, switching to defense and blocking another skeleton's sword. He stood, sprinting at a zombie and blocking it, continuing to run forward, using the zombie to plow through the horde. After several minutes of running without finding an end, and the zombie having been killed by a skeleton's sword, Michael finally stopped, ducking under a sword and switching to offense again. Then, he turned, slashing three zombies in quick succession before a skeleton behind him slashed at him. He managed to mostly avoid it, but it still carved a gash in his shoulder. He grit his teeth, spinning and slashing that creatures before ducking under another sword and slashing that skeleton before a zombie behind him grabbed him, biting him. He shouted in annoyance, killing the zombie and carefully watching his life, the zombie's poison eating away at it for exactly five seconds before it stopped, his health halfway gone.

He spun, slashing a pair of skeletons then spun again, slashing a zombie. He stabbed a skeleton on his right then ripped the sword downward, carving it through the ground then upward through a zombie. He switched back to defense and blocked a sword just as a row of zombies to his left exploded and Klein and his guild ran over, killing the skeleton attacking Michael and those around him, giving him room to get out a health potion and drink it. He also took the time to sort through the two level up notices he had gotten while fighting.

"Nasty bite huh?" Klein grinned as he and his guild slaughtered the creatures.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "This event sucks. There's a lot of them."

He turned and slashed a skeleton that had slipped past the guild. One of the other members began to run low on health after being bitten twice and backed away. Michael stepped forward, stopping the undead from getting through. As he fought, not needing to worry about what was behind him, he was able to kill creatures right and left. After a few minutes, he decided to test out a new ability and switched to defense. The moment a skeleton's sword hit his shield, it began to glow red. Then, he stepped forward, pulling the shield back and swung it at the skeleton. When it hit, the skeleton was blasted backward, taking down several other undead as it flew. Michael switched back to offense, his energy bar dropped down to near nothing by the ability. He slashed two zombies and backed out of the way of a skeleton's sword then split its skull. Just as he slashed another skeleton, a zombie stepped forward, tackling him. Michael stabbed it and the other member took his place again. Michael stood, sorting through his level announcements, still not many, then through his acquired loot, finding that he had gotten a bone shield from one of the skeletons that was better than his shield. He had also gotten a pair of boots that lowered his defense a bit but increased his speed. He decided for the time being he would go without the new items and stood turning toward the nearest gap as a skeleton stepped forward, slashing at him. He raised his shield but the sword split it in half and removed his arm. Michael shouted in surprise and switched to offense, slashing the skeleton as his shield and arm both shattered. He pulled out a healing crystal and restored his arm then took out his new shield. It was a kite-shaped tower shield with the border being upper arm bones and the rest being a mix of bones with a skull in the middle. With the shield equipped, he swapped out with the guild member with the lowest health.

* * *

Finally, there was only maybe fifteen minutes left. Unfortunately, everyone except Michael was out of health potions and healing crystals and was low on health. Klein had half his health bar but was also out of recovery items. Michael, who had made full use of the lack of a recovery item limit, still had a few crystals and a couple of potions. He also had full health and two back-up bone shields. Which was good. Because when the undead began to drop back into the ground with time to spare on the event, it became obvious he would need them.

He switched to a fresh one as the guild members all grouped together and Michael sent Klein a healing crystal so he would have help if what he suspected was about to happen.

"What's going on?" Klein asked.

Michael glanced up at the sky and saw an announcement.

"Congratulations. You've reached the event boss."

"Event boss," Michael reported returning his eyes to the ground as something began to push it up. "Hopefully it's not massive."

The ground exploded up, forming a massive hole and a single creature flew out of it, the hole repairing itself before the creature landed on it. The creature had massive leathery bat wings spanning a good ten feet, a muscular build, tattered black shorts, claws a few inches long on each hand and his toes, legs shaped like a dog's hind legs, and a face looking like a cross between a human's and a bat's with glowing red eyes. Its right hand was closed around the grip of an eight foot arming sword made out of shadows.

"What is that thing?" Michael asked.

"I think it's a vampire," Klein stated. "Fits the undead thing."

"Right," Michael nodded giving Klein another healing crystal in case he needed it. "You want to start or should I?"

"I'll go," Klein said sprinting forward.

He slashed at the vampire but its sword blurred around and blocked his, sending it flying as its ability to disarm displayed itself. Klein leapt back and shouted in annoyance as Michael stepped past him.

"Go get your sword," Michael sighed. "I'll keep him distracted as long as I can."

Klein nodded sprinting for the sword. Michael saw the creature turn toward Klein and charged. It turned toward him and Michael looked to his energy bar. He had just enough energy to use his new ability again so he switched to defense and raised his shield and charged at the creature. It spun toward him, slashing. Michael leapt forward, activating his ability. His shield glowed red and he slammed it forward into the creature's sword, then both into the creature's chest, the sword burying itself in its chest. Then, the creature flew away and Michael's shield did the same. Michael backed away as Klein sprinted past, jumping and slashing at the thing. It wrenched its sword out and slashed at Klein. both blades hit, Klein's health dropping to near zero as he was thrown backward and his chest plate sailed into the air.

"Oh what!?" Michael scoffed. "That's such bullshit!"

He sprinted forward, equipping his new sword and looking up at the creature's four health bars. Together, he and Klein had dropped its health by half a bar. Michael switched to offense and ducked under the creature's sword. The sword arced through the air, flashing at Michael from the other side. Michael stepped past the creature, sword slicing through the creature before blocking the creature's sword. Michael flew backward, flipping over and landing on his feet as the his sword stabbed into the ground between himself and the creature. Michael watched the glowing gash in the creature's side for a moment before looking up at the life bars, seeing another fifth of a bar had disappeared.

"This is going to be difficult," Michael growled, opening his inventory and equipping his new boots. "Since he's a one-hitter anyway for me, defense isn't going to help me."

He sprinted forward, shooting over the ground and grabbing his sword then jumping, tucking his knees to his chest as the creature's sword flashed under him. Michael activated one of his sword abilities, spinning and shooting forward like a drill, blade hitting the creature and launching it backward. Then, Michael landed on his feet and sprinted forward, activating a basic ability, his sword glowing blue before he jabbed it forward, slashing the creature across the side. He stopped behind it, spinning a hundred and eighty degrees before closing his eyes as his sword glowed red. He activated the ability and spun in a blur, his sword blade turning into a red ring as it tore into the creatures. After three slashes, the creature was hurled away and Michael stopped, panting as he had run out of energy. The creature's life had dropped a full bar, leaving just over two bars.

"Way to go man!" Klein called out. "My guild is healed though. We'll take over."

"They're too slow," Michael stated simply pulling out an energy crystal. "So are you Klein. I may be low level, but thanks to Kirito and you, my speed is already higher than yours. I'll finish this thing myself. You would just get yourselves killed."

"Don't pull that one man army crap on me," Klein snapped. "I know you're not as fast as you say."

"You specialize in strength, HP, and endurance," Michael stated as his energy bar refilled itself, the crystal shattering. "I specialize in speed."

Klein sighed and rested his sword on his shoulder.

"Have at him then," Klein sighed.

Michael sprinted forward, activating the stab ability again. This time, just as he finished, he spun and used it again, carving another gash through the creature's other side before stopping, spinning and activating a bit stronger ability. He darted forward, sword glowing blue as he began to slash wildly at the boss. It suffered three slashes before slashing his sword and canceling his ability while launching it away. Michael growled in annoyance and ducked switched to defense, activating his newest ability and launching the creature away, giving himself a chance to get to his sword then the first shield he had lost. Then, he turned back toward the creature as it stood, half its health bar gone. Its sword faded and it roared in rage, claws extending. Michael gulped and glanced at his empty energy bar. The creature shot forward, the announcement "DEF down" appearing over its head. Michael sighed and sprinted at the creature as it became airborne, wings kicking up a cloud of dust. It slashed at Michael and he blocked the claws, shield blessedly remaining with him. He backed away as the other hand's creatures slashed the shield, then the other, and the other, and so on. Michael backed away before spinning around the creature, switching to offense as he spun in a half circle. He activated that ability, spinning as the creature did the same. Michael's sword carved into the creature's arm, then shoulder, then head, blasting it away after three hits, a limit Michael hated about the eight-revolution ability. When Michael stopped spinning, his energy began to regenerate again and he grinned, seeing the sliver of health the creature had left. he sprinted forward, the creature flying at him as he did. He held his sword up, pointing it at the creature as it glowed blue. Then, he streaked forward and the creature slashed.

The dust from the creature's wings obscured Klein's vision of Michael and the boss but after a moment, the sound of shattering glass reached them. After a moment the dust settled, revealing Michael standing, barely, with four glowing red gashes across his chest.

_Damn,_ Michael thought. _Should have waited and used a safer ability._

He watched as his health bar slowly emptied. When it reached critical, it moved to the center of his vision, enlarging itself so he would know he was going to die. But he didn't. The bar stopped with one health point left. Michael sighed in relief, falling backward and passing out. When he awoke, his health had recovered most of the way and he had a lot of level requests, some from the undead that he hadn't gotten to, and a few from the boss. He also had an award box for killing the boss. He selected the box and saw he had received two items. One, was a Bone Shield, which made him roll his eyes. The other, was a pair of gloves that increased his strength, endurance, and HP. He equipped both items, the gloves being black with metal splint backs, and and then sorted through his level alerts. Then, he grinned. After the event, he was now at level twenty eight. With his items, he was about the equivalent of a level forty.

"That was a close call," Klein stated. "You had me worried for a moment. So, now what?"

"Now I'm off to meet Kirito's smith," Michael stated. "I'll probably level up a dozen times on the way the way I play so I should make it there no problem."

"Good luck," Klein smirked. "I gotta head back to the front line. Hope you find your friend."

"Me too," Michael nodded. "Thanks for all your help."

Klein nodded and he and his guild all teleported away. Michael turned toward the floor's dungeon and went inside.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Favor For A Favor

Michael leaned against the wall of the smith shop sighing. Kirito was late. Thankfully, the coat Michael was wearing was enough for the smith, Lisbeth, to accept Michael's word about Kirito having referred him. Just not enough to improve his sword for free.

"You want me to improve that sword, you have to do me a favor," Lisbeth said. "It's not that hard, you're already a high enough level. You just need to go get a couple of things for me."

"What things?" Michael sighed.

"A few different ore types," Lisbeth stated. "For someone of your level, it shouldn't be hard. All of the ore types can be found on floor twenty seven, the dungeon being the easiest place to find them."

"Floor Twenty Seven?" Michael blinked. "Shit, I didn't know I'd be backtracking that far."

"It's not so bad," Lisbeth smirked. "At your level, the dungeon should be a cake walk."

Michael nodded, eyes instinctively flicking to his level. In the process of getting to Lisbeth's shop, he had managed to make it to level forty. He could probably survive the higher levels now, but he decided he wanted to get his sword upgraded first. He left Lisbeth's shop and teleported to floor 27 then headed for the dungeon. He hated the floor 27 dungeon. Mainly because he knew that even some high level players that were higher than he was had been massacred in it, mainly because they had gotten cocky and hadn't payed enough attention to their health, but still. He had also nearly died in that dungeon. He had gotten caught in an obvious trap and had only escaped because he had picked the door's lock between monster kills. Not an easy thing to do. He definitely wasn't looking forward to going back in, but he needed his sword upgraded.

Michael stepped into the dungeon and sighed. It had changed. Again. Mapping the dungeon had been impossible for the clearing guilds because the dungeon was a labyrinth by definition. Every few days, it would change. Now, there was a straight hallway for thirty feet leading to a door. Michael opened it and groaned. Inside the room was a sea of Mineral Elements, tall stone creatures, and Dark Dwarf Miners, gnomes with pick axes. The only real problem with the enemies of the dungeon, mostly these two, was the fact that they always came in large to massive groups. This, was average.

Michael sprinted forward, drawing his sword and beginning to carve his way through the enemies. Almost every one dropped a type of ore. Lisbeth had been right about it being easy to gather the ore types, except that there was one ore he had only ever gotten once here. And that was also on the list. Michael ducked under a swipe from a Mineral Element and slashed it just in time for a Dark Dwarf Miner's pickaxe to flash through where the creature had been at him. Michael ducked under it and spun, his ability dragging him in a circle and wiping a large group of the monsters before allowing him to stop. He stood and jumped back from a Mineral Element and into another which batted him aside. He flew into another, killing it and flipping to his feet and looking around. As he did, he caught a flash of blue in the crowd.

Found it, Michael grinned, sprinting forward and carving his way after it.

After ten seconds, it was gone, and he was at the door out of the room. He slipped through, seeing the other door close at the end of the hundred foot long corridor. He sprinted after the thing that possessed the only ore on the list he didn't have yet and chased it through three more rooms, each with a larger group of monsters than the last room. Finally, he stopped outside a massive, ornate black door with gold edges and gold vine designs on it. The boss door for the floor had been a similar size but had had silver highlights.

"With my luck it'll be the game super boss," Michael muttered pushing the door open.

Inside, there was a massive room that was different. For starters, rather than the overlapping white tiles, this room looked to be one complete piece of black stone. In the center of the room was a throne and two enemies. One, was a creature that looked like a much more streamline Mineral Element made out of aquamarine or the like. The other, was a person in a black robe sitting in the throne with one foot on the other knee, an elbow on one arm rest and his face resting on his hand. He had a longsword leaning on the side of the throne and a smug, almost insane grin on his face.

"Kill him," he ordered.

The walls opened suddenly and Mineral Elements and Dark Dwarf Miners began to stream into the room. Michael's mouth fell open. That couldn't be a player. Players couldn't tame monsters. Could they? The first wave reached him and he began to carve through them. He didn't switch to defense once, resulting in several minor injuries taking a fourth of his health but he still killed all of the creatures. Finally they stopped and the man lifted his head, lazily waving his hand. The creature beside him blurred forward, attacking him. Before it could kill him, he ducked under its swipe and cut it diagonally across the chest. It staggered back then charged again and he slashed it again, killing it.

"Not bad," the man commended standing. "Do you know this symbol?"

He held up his left arm, a large, black, coffin-shaped symbol with a skeleton's left arm, and a pair of eyes and mouth with a triangle drawn to connect them visible as his cloak sleeve fell down.

"No," Michael stated. "Who are you? How can you command monsters?"

"That's quite simple," the man chuckled. "It's a rare necklace. Using it allows me to control any non-boss NPC to battle alongside me, including monsters. The number of them is determined by my level. Would you like to know my level?"

"Sure," Michael shrugged. "I'll humor you."

"A wise decision," the man sneered. "I'm level seventy nine."

Michael's jaw dropped open and he staggered backward as the man lifted his sword, drawing it and throwing the scabbard aside.

"You, my friend, are level forty, almost forty one," the man stated. "You're a solo player and you've only been playing for a few days, yet you're already a very high level, at least compared to your play-time. My guild, is called Laughing Coffin. This is their symbol. Do you know about Laughing Coffin?"

"No," Michael stated, backing toward the door.

"We're a murder guild," the man's voice hummed before he licked his lips and appeared in front of Michael, sword raised.

He slashed downward and Michael raised his shield, driving it up at the sword and blocking the attack but destroying the shield as a result of their level difference. Michael staggered away, equipping another shield as the man laughed, lowering his sword.

"Look at the fear," the man drawled, seeming almost euphoric. "I can smell your terror new blood. You may be able to jump level like a veteran gamer, but I can see the truth. You're no more a gamer than some infant fresh from the womb!"

And with that, he was in front of Michael again. Michael reacted instinctively, moving to block the sword with his own. He succeeded for the most part, but the man began to slowly force Michael's sword downward.

"S...Stop!" Michael growled, barely able to hold the man off. "W...why are you..."

"I told you," the man sneered, sounding like he was barely trying. "My guild is the murder guild!"

And with that, he forced his sword down through Michael's torso, then flicked his Queen's Knightsword away. Michael collapsed, health dropping rapidly. The man turned, walking over to the sword as Michael's HP stopped at one quarter left and began to slowly regenerate.

"Just so we're clear, I could have killed you, had I so desired," the man stated. "My attack was barely a scratch compared to what I could have done. I'll let you live, since you're not strong enough to be a threat. Come and find me some other time. We'll duke it out once you're stronger. Oh, an, I'll be keeping this sword."

Michael stood, equipping the sword he had had before the Queen's Knightsword and charged forward, health barley at half. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting. The man spun as Michael slashed. Michael's sword carved a deep gash into the man's chest, glowing red as Michael began to slash the man rapidly. After a moment he spun, slashing the man horizontally across the chest before flipping his sword around and slashing upward along the man's torso. As his ability finished, he flipped his sword over and brought it down on the man's sword arm, severing it at the middle of the forearm. Then, he leapt back and looked at the man's health bar. It was only a quarter of the way down but a second quarter had filled with red and when his recovery factor restored his health, that section remained empty. Michael blinked in surprise as the man looked down at his arm then at Michael and raised the sword, which began to glow red. Michael wasn't sure what came over him, but he dove forward, grabbing the man's sword, which flashed and vanished as it was added to his inventory. Then, Michael dove forward, rolling out of the way of the man's attack. Then, he stood turning toward the man and equipping the man's sword. The sword was a bit heavier than Michael's Queen's Knightsword and had considerably better stats.

"You intend to kill me with my own sword?" the man snorted. "Fine. Let's end this."

Michael charged as the man held Michael's sword up, the blade beginning to glow blue. Michael held up his shield, switching to defense and the man shot forward, slicing through the shield easily. Michael spun as the shield shattered and slashed at the man. A gash opened on the man's back and the man spun. Before he could attack Michael, Michael activated an ability of his own and began carving into the man again. After a moment, he took special care to sever both legs at the knees. Then, he stabbed the man and leapt back, taking the sword with him as the man's body fell to the ground.

"Not bad," the man commended, health bar half blocked from severed limbs and the other half down to a forth. "But I have no time for this."

He pulled out a healing crystal but before he could use it, Michael held his sword up, the blade glowing blue before he shot forward, severing the crystal and removing the front half of the man's hand, leaving only the thumb. Michael also took care to kick the Queen's Knightsword, sending it skidding away. Then, Michael turned to the man, whose face betrayed a bit of fear, since he couldn't use any healing items on himself without at least one more finger. Michael walked over and raised his sword.

"Shame you chose to be a murderer," Michael stated. "I would have liked to come out of this with a clean conscience."

And with that, he drove the man's sword down through his head and let go, leaving it there as the man's body shattered. Michael retrieved his sword and then teleported out of the dungeon and back to the city where Lisbeth's shop was. Once he stepped inside, he dropped all of the ore, the massive amount filling most of the room with the one rare ore he got sitting on the desk. The moment she stepped into the room she stopped, gawking at the ore.

"What the hell!?" she shouted. "I don't need that much!"

"I don't either," Michael shrugged. "Make some money off it. Now, about our deal?"

She grumbled in annoyance and took his Queen's Knightsword, enhancing it and gave it back.

"Oh, by the way," Michael said before he left. "Who should I tell about the Laughing Coffin guy that was in the dungeon?"

"Was?" Lisbeth asked.

"He's dead now," Michael stated wincing at the thought of having killed someone.

"No one then," Lisbeth sighed. "If he's not a threat, he's unimportant now."

Michael's eyes widened a bit but he nodded and left.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Laughing Coffin

Michael leaned against the wall, idly scrolling through his list of items. it had been roughly a month since his fight against the Laughing Coffin member and he had progressed to level sixty, according to Kirito he was now only about thirty levels below Kirito. Of course, this also placed Michael about even with the Laughing Coffin members they were going to fight. He wasn't happy about only being level with them considering the fact that he really didn't want to resort to the same underhanded method he had used to defeat the last Laughing Coffin he had faced. So far, no one knew what he could really do and how he was able to jump levels so fast. He was also not looking to tell anyone, though, he was considering telling Kirito, since Kirito seemed to be the most honorable player in the game.

"Alright, let's head out," the Knights of the Blood Oath member telling them about the leaders of the Laughing Coffin said finally, turning to the door.

Michael pushed off the wall as Kirito walked over.

"Hey, you want a stronger sword than that Queen's Knightsword?" Kirito asked. "It's not exactly that great."

"While that is true, it's the only sword in the game that doesn't break if not repaired regularly," Michael pointed out. "I'd rather not have to worry about that than I would have a strong sword. Of course, I plan to have a weapon so strong it doesn't matter soon enough. I'll need your help for that."

Kirito shrugged and sent Michael a stronger sword just in case. Michael sighed and equipped it, since it would come in handy, and drew it, inspecting it. It was an arming sword with a sphere pommel with most being silver but gold engraving of random shapes, at least, that's what it looked like to Michael, and the blade had a strip of gold running up the middle of it. He thanked Kirito then followed him and the rest of the group out of the city and to the Laughing Coffin base they had finally located. Inside, it looked like a massive black void with floating white platforms, some the size of stairs and some much, much large. They stopped for a break on a square big enough for roughly three hundred players to stand on it. Unfortunately, it was also big enough for a battle. Laughing Coffin thought so too because they appeared on all of the platforms around the large one, numbering almost as many as the group sent to send them to Aincrad's jails. Michael drew his sword and shield as the Laughing Coffin members leapt down to the platform, charging from all sides.

Michael sprinted forward, reaching the front line in time to switch out with a Knight of the Blood Oath who was at the same level as him. Michael was glad he had managed to find better armor. He now wore a silver full plate cuirass, black armor pants, bright red armor boots that improved his speed and endurance, though not as much as he'd like, and a pair of lime green gauntlets that increased his max HP and his strength. All in all, it was better than the Knights of the Blood Oath armor the other player was wearing. The Laughing Coffin was wearing the usual tattered brown robe and was wielding a curved dagger in his right hand and holding a healing crystal in his left. Michael snorted and stepped forward, slashing at the Laughing Coffin. The member blocked the slash and jabbed at Michael but Michael stepped back then switched to defense and activated his favorite shield ability, smashing his shield into the member and blasting him backward into a floating platform behind him before the member slid to the ground and landed hard, out cold. Michael switched to offense and slashed a pair of Laughing Coffin members attacking another member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, which made up the bulk of the group Michael had come with.

One of the two Laughing Coffin Members wheeled around and slashed at Michael, managing to place a gash across his stomach. Michael staggered back then stepped forward, stabbing at the member. The member batted the sword aside and slashed at Michael again but Michael managed to duck under it, slashing the member diagonally up the torso from his right hip to his left shoulder. The man staggered back and collapsed, holding his chest as his health dropped stopping at critical and leaving the man barely conscious. Michael turned to find another opponent as one of the leaders, one wearing a skull mask with red eyes, Michael hadn't been paying attention to the names, drove a sword through his abdomen. He staggered back, the leader laughing as he pulled his sword back and turned, slicing through three Knights of the Blood Oath. Michael quickly used a healing crystal then switched to defense and smashed his glowing shield into the Laughing Coffin Leader's back, launching him across the battle field. He landed on his feet, chuckling in amusement and slashing a pair of knights beside himself. He didn't kill anyone, but he definitely did a lot to weaken them.

"You wanna play huh kid?" the member asked. "Alright. Let's play."

He sprinted forward, slashing at Michael who began to block everything he threw at him, every attack sparking against the shield in rapid succession. The moment an ability activated, Michael got ready to switch to offense, remembering from experience that there was a moment when movement was impossible after an ability. Just as the last attack his his shield, Michael switched, his own moments stopping for a moment before he raised his sword, fire rolling off the blade as he slashed downward at the member. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and the member blocked his attack with his own before spinning and slashing Michael across the chest twice, launching him backward just before a girl in a white Knights of the Blood Oath uniform with a white rapier darted past, quickly subduing the member.

"Of course it's the Lightning Flash," Michael grumbled using a crystal as the battle began to take a bad turn.

Only ten Laughing Coffin members were left, but each was beginning to target the weakened members of the group, killing them. Michael spun, blocking one of the ten's swords and shoving it upward, spinning and activating an ability, his sword passing through the member's chest once before stabbing him and launching him backward. He landed on his feet, barely enough health to stand left.

"Surrender," Michael ordered. "One hit and you die."

"Then it's fair," the member grinned, switching to a much stronger, pure white sword that could kill Michael in one slash just from the strength boost it granted.

"Oh fuck," Michael groaned as the member sprinted forward, slashing overhead at him.

Michael's sword blocked the attack but shattered and Michael leapt back the member following. Michael swore and switched to defense, the sword streaking through the air at him already. He blocked it and his shield was cut in half as well. A Knight of the Blood Oath, stepped in, holding the member off, barely as Michael equipped his Queen's Knightsword again along with a Bone Shield. Then, he stepped forward, shoving the player aside and blocking the sword with his own, the member giving him an unimpressed look when his sword didn't snap like a twig. Michael did, however, lose a bit of health and snorted in disgust, shoving the sword upward then slashed downward as the member did the same. At the last second, Klein arrived, blocking the sword as Michael's carved through the Laughing Coffin member, killing him.

"So, the original plan didn't have to do with killing, right?" Michael asked.

"Not unless necessary," Klein growled. "I hate Laughing Coffin. They're all crazy."

Michael nodded and looked around. It looked like there had been twenty Laughing Coffin members killed, give or take, and about ten of their own had died. Michael stood, turning to Kirito and walking over.

"Can I talk to you a minute?" Michael asked.

"Sure," Kirito nodded.

Michael led him away from the others then stopped and briefly explained his method for level progression and about his fight with the first Laughing Coffin member he had fought. After a moment, Kirito nodded.

"It's a good idea," Kirito nodded. "And in all honesty, I would have done the same thing in that situation. But, don't do it again. I'll help when you need it but you need to not do that."

Michael nodded and they turned and returned to the others.

* * *

Read and review. Michael's secret will be revealed during the fight with Heathcliff. until then, if you figure it out, PM me about it. don't review. constructive criticism is great. flames are not. My character is OP for a reason.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Death's Dungeon

Michael walked down the street in silence. He had progressed to level eighty five, but it had taken a long time. In fact, it had taken months. It had been nearly two years since the release of SAO. Michael had also gotten a better sword. It was about four feet long and completely silver. According to Klein, it was among the best ten in the game.

Michael stopped at the mouth of an alley when he heard Kirito's voice. Kirito was talking to someone about a dungeon below the Town of Beginnings where they currently were.

"Of course we'll help," Kirito was saying. "Lead the way."

Kirito and Asuna left the alleyway, following a woman with green hair and Aincrad Liberation Army armor. The thing that confused Michael the most was the young girl with Asuna and Kirito. Michael had heard the news that the Lightning Flash, Asuna, and Kirito had been married but that didn't explain the child. She didn't have a curser like a player, and child birth wasn't possible in the game, not to mention the child was roughly eight years old at most.

Michael followed them, and soon they found themselves at a secret door in the end of an alleyway and went inside. Michael caught up with them inside and they greeted him happily, Asuna introducing Yui, their unofficial adoptive daughter who they had found wandering in the woods near their home.

"It's very nice to meet you Yui," Michael smiled.

Yui simply smiled and hugged Asuna's arm. They all continued deeper into the dungeon, not a single monster leaping out at them. As they walked, Kirito and Asuna explained that they were there to rescue the leader of the Aincrad Liberation Army who had been trapped in the deepest recesses of the dungeon by the new unofficial leader who had been about to be exiled. Their guide, Yulier, the leader's in-game and real life wife, was the only person to believe he was still alive and had asked Asuna and Kirito for their help because they were two of the best three characters in the game, behind only Heathcliff, who had been unreachable at the time.

"Do we know anything at all about this dungeon?" Michael asked.

"Only that more of it was unlocked as the floors were cleared," Yulier stated. "The end of the dungeon, or at least, what we think is the end, was unlocked after the last boss was defeated and an alert was sent to the head of every guild announcing it's existence. The Aincrad Liberation Army had already known about it and in the beginning had explored the it the first few times it was expanded but gave up and decided to wait until it was fully open to explore fully. The alert was assumed to mean that it was, and it was how my husband was tricked into it so easily."

"I see," Michael nodded as they reached a long hallway with dozens of braziers along the walls, all unlit, leaving the hallway dark.

On the far end, they could see a doorway with a safe zone on the other side, judging by the words, "SAFE ZONE" floating in the middle of the doorway.

"Why is there a safe zone inside a dungeon?" Michael asked. "We haven't met a single enemy."

Just as he said this, a man appeared in the doorway, panic stricken.

"Run!" the man shouted. You have to get away!"

"Thinker!" Yulier cried out happily, stepping forward then freezing as all of the braziers blazed to life. "What's going on?"

"We're about to see the reason for the safe zone," Michael guessed.

Sure enough, all of the shadows in the room, excluding their own, stretched to a single spot on the ceiling, forming he silhouette of an unrecognizable, writhing _thing_. Then, the silhouette began to extend from the ceiling, growing into a tattered black cloak. Once it separated from the ceiling, a pair of skeletal hands and a skull extended from the cloak, the creature cackling as it did. a massive scythe with a bone shaft ending in a point on one end and an excessively long blade on the other formed in its hand and it pulled it back instantly. It slashed at them and Michael, Kirito and Asuna all leapt at it, attempting to block it only to be blasted away.

"Get to the safe zone!" Michael snarled, pushing himself up, his sword shattering as he did. "Damnit. I just bought that!"

He equipped his Queen's Knightsword once again and readied himself as Kirito and Asuna stood, Yulier sprinting for the safe zone with Yui kicking and screaming in her arms.

"What is this thing?" Michael growled.

"My detection skill can't identify it," Kirito stated, clearly worried. "It could be as strong as anything from level ninety up."

"I see," Michael nodded glancing at his health bar. "I'm half dead."

"Same," Kirito and Asuna both stated.

"My Elucidator isn't going to take another hit from that scythe," Kirito stated. "Cover me while I repair it."

"Same," Asuna growled.

Michael nodded and sprinted forward, rolling sideways as the scythe crashed down where he had been. He leapt into the air, spinning and using his drill ability to blast the Reaper in the face. Unfortunately, after about three seconds of spinning against its skull, he was launched backward, the attack having had no effect on the Reaper and dropping Michael's health to a quarter. Michael crashed down beside Kirito who instantly used a healing crystal on him before equipping a second, blue sword and drawing it.

"So you can dual wield," Michael grunted standing and readying himself again. "I'm jealous."

"What do we do?" Kirito asked.

"I want that thing's drop," Michael grinned. "It's probably amazing. Shame we can't hurt the bastard."

"No doubt," Kirito nodded.

The Reaper roared, slashing at them again and they all avoided it, charging and attacking it all at once, Asuna and Kirito using standard one slash abilities and Michael not bothering. The attacks all hit the reaper and their weapons bounced off, throwing them away. The Reaper turned on Kirito and Asuna and raised its scythe. As the scythe fell, Michael stepped between them, using his shield thrust ability to deflect the scythe successfully, but suffering his entire arm and shield shattering and dropping his health to critical.

"Michael!" Asuna cried out.

Michael looked up to see the Reaper slashing again but Yui appeared in front of him, the scythe stopping short of hitting her and the words, "IMMORTAL OBJECT" appearing over her. The Reaper recoiled and Yui flew into the air, a massive flaming red sword forming in her hand. The reaper shrieked and raised its scythe but Yui slashed at it. The sword stopped against the Reaper's skull but the Reaper still shrieked in pain, eyes rolling around in its sockets. Then, it exploded. Yui landed in front of them all and held her hand out, Michael's health regenerating and his arm being restored, along with his shield.

"Yui, how..." Asuna trailed off and Michael sighed.

"She's an AI," Michael stated.

"That's right," Yui nodded. "I was programmed to monitor player's mental states and help them, but the master control program removed my ability to help. All I could do was watch as players went through pain and suffering and fear. I watched so much death, and loss, and pain, that it became too much. I forgot who I was, whatI was. I left, and began wandering in the forest where you found me Mommy, Daddy. I was so happy with you two, and I made you happy too. In the end, that's how I remembered what I am. I couldn't let that thing kill you. So I used my Administrator access to delete it."

"Amazing," Kirito smiled. "Since that thing's gone now, we can go home."

"Sorry Daddy," Yui said sadly, shaking her head. "But I can't go home now. Because I interfered, I'm going to be deleted."

"What?" Asuna gasped. "No, you can't!"

Yui smiled sadly as she began to turn transparent. Michael glanced at the safe zone and his eyes widened.

"There's an administrator access terminal in there," Michael gaped.

Kirito spun, instantly sprinting to the terminal, which appeared and asked for identification. He began to hack in instantly. As he did, Yui turned to Michael.

"Thank you for saving Mommy and Daddy," Yui smiled. "Here. Take this as a thank you gift. It's the reward for defeating that creature."

An alert appeared in front of Michael telling him he had received a boss drop bonus. He read the item's name and then simply stared at it. She had just given him the one item he had wanted more than anything else in the game. He accepted it and smiled. Just as he did, Yui shattered.

"Yui!" Asuna screamed.

Instead of fading, her remains all shot over to Kirito and solidified into a teardrop. Kirito sighed in relief and walked over to Asuna, holding the item out.

"I was able to save her data as a monster item," Kirito stated. "Yui's Heart. We'll be able to save her now. But not yet. I need a computer to turn her data back into Yui, so first we'll have to clear the game and go home."

Asuna stared between him and Yui's remains then closed her hand around it and flung her arms around Kirito, sobbing in a mixture of grief and relief.

"We should go," Michael stated. "This place has nothing left for us. We should head back into town where we at least know we're safe."

Kirito nodded and they headed back as Kirito combined Yui's Heart with several other random items that most people would simply throw away. When it was done, it proved to be a necklace, which he gave to Asuna. Asuna smiled and put it on instantly. Then, they left the dungeon behind, hoping to never need to bother to return.

* * *

Read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Monster

Michael sat against the tree and sighed. It had been a couple of weeks since the incident with the reaper. He had already gotten extremely good at using his newest item, though, he had no intention of unveiling it until they met the final boss, unless he had no other choice. He was tired of training with it and had just decided to sleep for a bit when a group of Knights of the Blood Oath arrived, stopping around him.

"Well, I see two possibilities," Michael sighed. "First, you want my shit, or two, you want my help."

"A group of our best fighters went to scout the Seventy Fifth Floor boss and were eliminated," one of them stated. "They could have easily used a teleport crystal to escape. We have no intel whatsoever on the boss, but we're preparing a full-scale assault on him. We would prefer that you be present, as you have built up a reputation for being extremely strong."

"I see," Michael nodded grinning. "I do love reputations. Sure. I'll tag along."

He stood, equipping his Queen's Knightsword and his shield and followed them. They went to the nearest teleport gate and headed to the Seventy Fifth floor, to the city of Corinea. There were already dozens of players present, including the entirety of smaller guilds. In fact, so far, Michael was the only one not part of a guild.

"Well look who decided to show up," a familiar voice behind him spoke up.

"Klein!" Michael grinned turning to his friend. "Long time no see. Is the rest of your guild here?"

"No," Klein sighed. "I left them out of this one because they're not ready. Whatever this is, I doubt we're going to be ready for it even with what we have."

"I'm not sure you're wrong," Michael sighed. "But, if nothing else, it'll be one hell of a fight."

"You're one of a kind," Klein grinned just as Asuna and Kirito arrived.

Klein went to greet them with another player, who Michael assumed was another friend of theirs, and Michael walked over to Heathcliff.

"Excuse me, Sir," Michael greeted, getting the most famous player's attention.

"Yes?" Heathcliff asked. "What is it?"

"I was wondering, what are our chances of winning this fight?" Michael asked. "Why so many?"

"We don't like not knowing what we're up against," Heathcliff stated. "So we're going in prepared."

"And what if the best strategy calls for only a small group?" Michael asked.

"We tried that," Heathcliff stated. "Our scouting party was wiped out within five minutes."

Michael sighed and nodded, though, he still didn't like risking so many lives. However, it wasn't his call. And Heathcliff had decided it was time to go. He pulled out an oversized teleportation crystal and walked a short distance away.

"Corridor open," Heathcliff spoke, and the crystal shattered, a massive circle of translucent light forming in front of him. "Well, here we go."

He stepped through and one by one the others all followed. Michael went through last, just behind Kirito and Asuna. The moment he stepped through he felt like he was choking on the nervousness and fear of everyone around him. Everyone began to check their gear and equip their best items. Michael gave his own gear one last scan before closing the menu and swallowing hard. It would be his first real boss fight. It was just his luck that the boss was strong enough to have everyone so scared that they threw everyone they had at it.

"Everyone ready?" Heathcliff asked stepping in front of the door and facing everyone. "The Knights of the Blood Oath will be out in front, distracting the boss. Meanwhile the rest of you have to pay attention and figure out its attack patterns. I won't lie. This battle will be hard. But I have faith that we can an will prevail. For our day of liberation!"

Everyone cheered and Heathcliff turned toward the door. Michael drew his sword and shield but despite his best effort, both shook.

"Don't worry man," Klein said resting a hand on his shoulder. "We're all in this together. Besides, almost no one knows about it but Kirito gave me an item a while back on a christmas event. It can revive someone up to ten seconds after they die. If, by some miracle, things go south for one of us, I'll be pulling that beauty out. No way am I letting a friend die."

Michael stared at Klein then smirked and nodded. He wasn't sure why he was so worried, he had been on floor fifteen while only a high enough level for floor eight. He could handle one boss. As long as it wasn't the same reaper thing as Yui had deleted, or the Skull Reaper, which was supposedly as strong as the next floor up's boss.

The door groaned as it slowly swung open, revealing a near pitch black room beyond. Everyone drew their weapons and readied themselves. Then, they waited.

"Forward to battle!" Heathcliff shouted.

The mass of players charged in, a battle cry echoing from nearly all of them. They filled the room, then stopped. It was empty. The battle arena for the fight was a massive circular platform with a clearly fatal fall around it. The room itself was enormous, even compared to the floor. There were other, smaller platforms around the room at different heights but no way to reach them. Off to one side, a set of stairs reached up to the door to the next floor, which was sealed tight. The door closed behind them and they all looked around, confused.

"Where is it?" Someone asked.

"Hopefully it fell and we can go open that door," Michael stated.

A series of scrapes and "tacks" reached their ears, making everyone tense and a few jump. Then, it happened again. Michael looked around then froze, eyes rising to the ceiling as Asuna shouted the same thing.

"Up there!" Asuna warned, just as a strange sucking noise reached them at the same time as more tacks.

Michael's heart sank.

"It's the Skull..." Klein began.

"...Reaper," Kirito finished.

It roared, five health bars filling beside its name, though that was only a general indication. Five was the max health bars displayed. The tenth floor boss had had five, according to the beta's handbook.

"Why him?" Michael groaned.

"Stay away from it!" Heathcliff shouted. "Spread out!"

It dropped, heading straight for a group of terrified players too scared to move.

"This way!" Kirito shouted at them. "Hurry run!"

Both took off running but stumbled as it landed, the world around it turning red in a wave effect. Then, it slashed both at once. Both flew through the air, shattering just before landing and the rest of the room was died with a bloody hue.

"That was one hit!" Klein gaped.

"Man we are so dead!" the player that had greeted Kirito with Klein stated.

Michael raised his shield, not bothering to switch to defense. It wouldn't help. The Skull Reaper charged at another player and everyone around him fled, except Heathcliff who rushed forward, stopping its scythe with his signature shield, Liberator. The Skull Reaper stopped for less than half a second before shooting past Heathcliff, killing the player with his other scythe instead. It scurried around, attacking another player and this time Kirito rushed to his aid, blocking the scythe with both swords. However, it was so strong that it forced the swords down, slowly cutting down through Kirito's shoulder. It slashed at him from the other side and Heathcliff appeared, blocking it with his shield. Then, Asuna and Michael's swords crashed into the Skull Reaper's face, launching it back.

"If we block it together we have a chance," Asuna stated. "Come on, we can do this."

"Okay," Kirito nodded, standing. "Besides, my swords are fine with this one."

Heathcliff glanced at him for a moment before turning back to the problem at hand.

"Me and Asuna will deal with the scythes!" Kirito shouted. "Everyone else, flank it and attack!"

It charged forward and attacked Heathcliff, only for its scythe to again stop against his shield. Its other scythe was smashed into the ground by Kirito before Asuna attacked it again. As it reared up, Michael leapt at it, spinning and blasting into its underside. It was launched away, crashing down on the far side of the platform, giving them some room to breathe.

"Good," Michael sighed. "It worked. Put it over the edge!"

"I doubt it'll be so easy but, you got it," Kirito nodded as he, Asuna, Michael, and Heathcliff charged.

The Skull Reaper rushed to meet them but Heathcliff and Michael blocked its scythes and Asuna and Kirito blasted it, knocking it back to the edge again. Then, just as it began to recover, Michael and Heathcliff both crashed into it, launching it out into open air. It shrieked, falling into the chasm below them and disappearing.

"That was...shockingly easy," Kirito blinked. "Is it over?"

They heard it moving, that same chattering ticking noise as before. Then, suddenly, giant chunks of the ceiling began to fall.

"What...is...that?" Kirito gaped.

The players began to scramble around trying to avoid the debris, most succeeding, but a few were crushed. Then, the skull reaper landed, slashing a large group of the players. Heathcliff blocked its second attack and a moment later, Kirito blocked its other scythe. Instantly, every other player present slammed it with their strongest ability. They all backed away and looked to its health bar, barely a dent.

"You're kidding," Kirito breathed.

"We barely made a mark," Michael breathed, hand itching to equip his new item. "This is going to take forever."

"You're not helping with that pathetic piece of tin you're using," Kirito snapped, charging with Michael beside him.

"It can't be broken though," Michael pointed out.

Heathcliff and Asuna blocked its scythes and Kirito and Michael both charged, swords glowing red as they blasted the Skull Reaper, shoving it back. Several other players attacked it, and it roared in anger, tail whipping around and blasting a group along one side.

"He attacks with his tail too?" Michael gaped. "Terrific!"

Michael sprinted forward, leaping over its scythe, allowing it to crash into the ground then landed on its back spinning, sword glowing red. His ability dragged him around and around, all eight revolutions tearing through the Skull Reaper's head because he wasn't the only one attacking, keeping it from being thrown. When his ability ended, he leapt into the air and Asuna and Kirito blasted it again throwing it at Heathcliff. He raised his sword which glowed red. Then, he slashed downward, the blade slicing through a relatively small section of the Skull Reaper but still slammed it into the ground. Michael glanced at its health and sighed. Barely half a health bar was gone.

"This fight's going to suck," Michael growled.

He sprinted forward with Klein, both of them aiming to target the eyes, hoping for a weak point. It slashed at them but before it could hit them, Heathcliff blocked one scythe and the other of Kirito's friends, Agil, Michael believed, blocked the scythes. Klein and Michael both leapt into the air, stabbing the Skull Reaper in the eyes and using an ability to wrench their blades down and out. The Skull Reaper suddenly was gone, scuttling through the rest of the army, slashing right and left. Michael sprinted forward, stopping in front of it and spinning. After three hits, the Skull Reaper flew backward, Kirito slamming into its back with Starburst Stream. The Skull Reaper shrieked in pain, spinning to attack him only to have dozens of abilities slam its sides and have Asuna and Heathcliff blast it in the face. Michael leapt onto its back, activating a running slash ability and dragging his sword the length of its body before slashing its head and landing beside Heathcliff.

"How long you think this will take?" Michael asked.

"A long while," Heathcliff stated. "You should stay focused."

The battle continued, a constant stream of abilities blasting the Skull Reaper and the Skull reaper barely seeming to take damage. Finally, after what had to have been at least three hours, they reached the final health bar. Unfortunately, compared to what they started with, they now had only a skeleton crew.

"Everyone hit it!" Michael shouted as the Skull Reaper attacked him and Heathcliff.

Both avoided the scythes then trapped them against the ground. At the same time, Kirito used a double stab to pin the tail and everyone left began to blast the monster. It shrieked and after a moment, it ripped its scythes up, launching Heathcliff and Michael into the air. Michael watched his life drop to half from that alone and glanced at Heathcliff, watching a nearly full bar disappear as Heathcliff rolled in mid air, falling back toward it while activating an ability. Michael activated one of his own, blasting down on the Skull Reaper's back before quickly leaping away, not bothering to try and heal himself, since he wouldn't live long enough if he stopped moving.

The Skull Reaper spun toward him, shrieking and scurrying forward. It was moving faster than before, however, leaving Kirito and the others in the dust. It slashed at Michael and he rolled aside, standing just in time to turn sideways and avoid a second vertical slash. A blade whipped around at him and he leapt over it, slashing it to give it more momentum and it crashed into the Skull Reaper's side, taking a fair chunk of its remaining health. the other scythe flew at him and he ducked, stepping under it then leaping back from the other scythe. The Skull Reaper pursued him, more than happy to attempt to kill him as no other players were within range. It began to slash at him rapidly and Michael became ecstatic that his playing style revolved around speed before anything else. He was able to avoid every attack it sent at him but was continually backing away, leading to them nearing the edge. Finally he went forward, ducking under the scythe and standing beside the Skull Reaper. He spun, raising his sword to block the scythe that followed him and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively raised his shield and a dozen spiked legs crashed into the shield, hurling him away and heavily denting the shield. He flipped, landing on his feet as the shield shattered. The Skull Reaper charged again but this time, Heathcliff appeared, blocking the first Scythe, allowing Michael to block the second as Kirito and Asuna stepped between them, their swords glowing before they blasted the Skull Reaper together. The rest of the Players descended on the Skull Reaper like a horde, tearing into the thing, desperate to whittle its health away to nothing.

Suddenly, Agil crashed down on the creature's back with his battleaxe and the creature shrieked in rage. They all looked and saw that it finally had only a sliver of health left.

"Everyone, attack!" Heathcliff ordered and they all charged.

They began to hack at the Skull Reaper both with abilities and without. The Skull Reaper sank to the ground, unable to do anything, it seemed, due to low health. However, at the last possible second, its tail whipped around, crashing into the ground and launching everyone, miraculously not killing anyone, though. Then, it charged, slashing at Michael. Michael managed to get to his feet, turning and sprinting away, the scythe crashing down behind him.

"Why the fuck is it after me!?" Michael demanded as the Skull Reaper chased him.

"Just keep running!" Heathcliff shouted standing. "Bring it this way!"

He glanced back and instantly dove, rolling under a scythe then spinning as he stood, facing the Skull Reaper. It had stopped after its last attack and was glaring at him.

"Alright fine then," Michael snarled, seeing that its health looked to be completely gone, meaning that it should die within one or two attacks. "Come on!"

The Skull Reaper shrieked and charged. Michael could hear the others screaming in the background, thinking the exact same thing as Michael. He was going to die. It slashed at him and he rolled under it, stabbing it as he stood. Then, he ripped his sword out and leapt back, narrowly avoiding an attack. He stood, growling in frustration as the Skull Reaper roared.

"You annoying prick," Michael growled holding his sword at his side as the blade began to glow blue. "Just die already!"

He lunged forward as the Skull Reaper leapt at him, mouth open wide. His sword flashed around, carving into the inside of the Reaper's mouth. Then, it's mouth slammed shut, severing his arm. He staggered back and fell, his health dropping rapidly. As everyone watched, however, the Skull Reaper reared up, exploding and shattering. Michael's Queen's Knightsword stabbed into the ground beside him just as his health stopped, just short of empty. The anti-crystal zone cleared and Michael healed himself with a healing crystal, his arm being restored as well. As he stood, he he sorted through his one level alert and his final hit bonus. The Skull Reaper had given him a chest plate that would greatly increase his health and endurance, and a new shield. He equipped both just as Kirito, Asuna, Klein, and Agil reached him.

"That was close," Kirito stated. "What the hell were you thinking taking that thing alone like that?"

"I was thinking that even if I died, it was after me and I was going to take the chance of making sure no one else died," Michael stated. "Besides, even if I had failed, it would have been easy for you and Heathcliff to block its scythes one last time."

Kirito pulled his hand back but stopped. Michael was right.

"Don't do something like that again," Asuna said.

Michael nodded, looking around. Everyone was resting and letting their health refill, all having lost most of it at one time or another. All except Heathcliff. Heathcliff had more than half of his health left. Kirito noticed it as well, however, Kirito did something Michael didn't. Kirito charged at Heathcliff, activating an ability and stabbing at a surprised Heathcliff. The sword slipped past the shield, several people shouting in surprise and anger that someone would attack Heathcliff, until they realized the blade had stopped short and the words, "IMMORTAL OBJECT" were floating in front of Heathcliff.

"An immortal object?" Asuna gasped. "Commander Heathcliff, what's going on?"

"I think I got the answer to that," Kirito stated. "The reason why the Commander's HP never hits yellow, is cause he's protected by the system. Ya know, ever since day one, something's always bugged me about this whole thing. I was always wondering, where is he hiding while he watches us and controls everything in this world. Well, the answer's pretty simple. It's basic psychology. In fact, it's so simple every kid knows it. There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG. Is there, Akihiko Kayaba?"

* * *

Read and review.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Test

"There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG. Is there, Akihiko Kayaba?"

Everyone gasped and fell silent, staring at Heathcliff. What Kirito said made sense. Which is why no one was sure which player to doubt.

"Just for my curiosity's sake, would you mind telling me how you figured it out?" Kayaba requested.

"The first time I knew something was up, was during our duel," Kirito stated. "Remember when you turned the Tables on me? That move was way too fast."

"Yes I thought so," Kayaba nodded. "It was a mistake to think that would go unnoticed by you. But you were so strong and so fast, the only choice I had was to engage the system's assist mode. Yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba, and now that my identity has been revealed, it should come as no surprise that I am the final boss on the top floor."

"So the strongest player in the whole game ends up being the final boss, kinda cliche isn't it?" Kirito scoffed.

"Actually I kind of like that angle," Kayaba stated. "One thing's for sure, I always thought you'd be the one standing before me at the end. You know dual wielding is a rare skill. The kind that's only given to the player with the fastest reaction time. He is the hero of this story. The one who rises up to challenge the demon king. But you, the power you displayed exceeded my expectations. I guess these unexpected twists and turns, are what make MMORPGs so thrilling to play."

"Our loyalty," a Knight of the Blood Oath off to one side snarled, gripping his sword tightly. "Our hope. How dare you? How dare you!? HOW DARE YOU! ? !"

He leapt into the air, slashing at Kayaba. Kayaba summoned his menu, pressed a couple of buttons, and the player crashed to the floor, paralyzed. Kayaba began pressing more buttons and one by one, players began dropping, all being paralyzed indefinitely.

"Kiri...to," Asuna gasped as she too was effected.

Michael felt his own kick in and dropped, struggling to move his limbs. It was possible, but not enough to be able to do anything except use the menu, and barely that. Finally, everyone except Kirito was down.

"What's the plan now, huh?" Kirito spat. "You gonna kill everyone here and cover it up or something?"

"Oh God no," Kayaba chuckled. "That wouldn't be sporting of me. No, I have a better idea. I'm going to head to the top floor and wait for all of you there. I'll be inside the Ruby Palace. It's a shame I have to leave you all so soon. I've spent lots of time developing the Knights of the Blood Oath and other elite players. Oh well. You're all strong, so I'm sure you'll reach me. Eventually. But before I go. Kirito, I feel you deserve some kind of reward for discovering my identity, so...I'll give you a chance."

"Chance for what?" Kirito asked.

"To fight me one on one, right here, right now," Kayaba stated. "Oh and, my immortality will be deactivated. Defeat me and you clear the game, and all of the players will be able to log out from this world. No strings attached. Whataya say?"

"Don't do it, Kirito," Asuna pleaded. "I don't like it. We should fall back."

"...I have to," Kirito growled after several seconds. "Okay then, let's finish it."

"Kirito," Asuna gasped.

"I'm sorry," Kirito smiled. "I can't run away if it means ending this."

"You better not die, you here me?" Asuna said, worry clear in her voice, and for good reason.

"No, I'm gonna win," Kirito stated. "I promise I'm gonna end this world."

"Okay, I believe in you, Kirito," Asuna said.

Kirito set her down gently, careful to turn her head away from the upcoming fight. Then, he drew his swords.

"Kirito, don't!" Agil shouted.

"Kirito!" Klein shouted.

"Agil," Kirito spoke up. "Thanks for supporting all the players in the game. Since day one. Yeah I knew. You act like you're all about the money, but I knew you spent it all on helping the intermediate players level up. Klein, I'm sorry I bailed on you that day. I think about it all the time. Damnit Kirito. Don't you apologize. Don't you dare apologize now. i won't accept it. I'll never accept it until we're on the other side and you're buying me dinner God damnit!"

"You got it," Kirito nodded raising a thumbs up. "See you on the other side. Michael-"

"Save it," Michael snorted standing, menu active but displaying nothing except ever changing ones and zeros. "I ain't letting you fight someone who could cheat and not have anyone do anything about it alone. Besides. I'm going first."

He quickly entered some code into the screen and Klein was cured. Klein blinked then stood, grabbing his sword.

"I got ya," Klein grinned raising the blade.

"No," Michael snapped, making him freeze. "You're only up so you can use that item you mentioned if I need it."

Klein sighed but nodded and Michael swiped a hand, his menu returning to normal. Kayaba began to press buttons on his own menu but Michael and Klein both refused to drop from paralysis again.

"What did you do?" Kayaba demanded.

"Don't pretend you didn't know," Michael chuckled. "I'm a hacker. A cheater, if you prefer. It's how I was able to level up so fast, how I survived a couple of the fights I was in, and how I'm now immune to your paralysis."

"Level up?" Kayaba demanded.

Michael reached under his shirt, pulling out a necklace with a teardrop shaped jewel pendant.

"It doubles the amount of experience I get," Michael stated. "Very helpful when you're a half year late and need to be useful."

He put the necklace away and opened his weapons menu. After a moment, his sword and shield vanished, being replaced by a second Liberator, matching Kayaba's.

"That's..." Kayaba gaped then narrowed his eyes. "Did you hack you way through that fight too?"

"No," Michael chuckled. "I actually had some help for that fight and they gave me this. This one weapon that would give someone the ability to challenge you without the Dual Wield skill. Because your Holy Sword skill is granted by the Liberator, of which there are only two. Am I wrong?"

"No," Kayaba snarled. "There are two. So, you want to test your skills?"

"I do," Michael nodded. "But first, I have one question."

"And that is?" Kayaba grinned.

"Alice Johnson," Michael said seriously. "Is she alive?"

"Alice Johnson?" Kayaba blinked.

"Goes by the gamertag Destiny's Angel," Michael stated.

"Ah yes," Kayaba nodded. "I do remember that one. Strange girl her. Smart though. Not unlike yourself. She enjoyed training and leveling up through floor jumping. Or dungeon camping."

"I know," Michael nodded. "Now answer my question."

"What does it matter to you?" Kayaba asked.

"She's my sister," Michael stated. "We haven't spoken for more than three years, but I heard from our mother that she had logged onto Sword Art Online. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until a week before I logged on a half year ago."

"I see," Kayaba nodded. "Then I suppose you deserve to know. She's dead. She died roughly eight months ago. She was camping in the dungeon we were trying to clear and foolishly joined in the boss battle before restocking on healing items. As a result, she did not survive the fight."

"I see," Michael nodded. "I thought as much. She always was reckless. Very well. Shall we begin?"

"Yes," Kayaba nodded as both drew their sword. "Let's see this skill of yours."

They both charged, slamming their shields against each other's before spinning and slashing, both blocking the blade. They jumped back then charged, swords glowing blue. Their swords sparked off each other's shields before Michael spun, sword glowing red and sparking against Kayaba's shield eight times before he slowed to a stop. Kayaba raised his sword which glowed red. As the sword descended, Michael grinned and spun, blocking it. Kayaba stared in disbelief as Michael raised his own sword, readying the same ability.

"My ability had a shorter movement penalty," Michael stated slashing.

Kayaba managed to raise his own shield, the ability sparking against it before stabbing at Michael, his blade sparking against it before glowing yellow and whipping around, sparking against the shield again. Then, Michael stepped forward, slashing at Kayaba. Kayaba managed to block three slashes before Michael spun again.

"Damn you," Kayaba snarled, Michael's sword sparking against Kayaba's shield rapidly.

The moment Michael finished, Kayaba stabbed him. He pulled the sword out and Michael leapt back, wincing.

"Ouch," Michael growled, health only slightly above halfway, level with Kayaba's own in terms of percentage. "Nice hit. Shall we?"

He sprinted forward, slashing at Kayaba and Kayaba blocked it, stabbing downward at Michael. They began to trade blows, neither using an ability. Then, after roughly four minutes, Michael spun sword sparking against Kayaba's shield eight times. Kayaba raised his sword, the blade glowing red again before slashing. At the last second, Michael dropped, raising the shield. However, Kayaba's sword cut through the shield, splitting Michael down the front. Michael staggered back, health dropping as his sword and shield shattered.

"It's over," Kayaba stated as Michael's health his zero.

Michael shattered and Klein instantly raised his long forgotten revival item. The item shattered and Michael reformed, sighing in relief and equipping the shield the Skull Reaper had given him and his Queen's Knightsword.

"How did you...oh wait, the christmas update," Kayaba growled. "I forgot about that. But what are you going to do with that pathetic sword?"

"This," Michael grinned, leaping and spinning, drilling at Kayaba.

Kayaba raised the shield, blocking the ability. For a moment, it seemed that it was a stalemate. Then, Kayaba's Liberator shattered and Kayaba dove to the side, barely avoiding the attack. He stood, staring at his hands in shock before looking to Michael as Michael landed on his feet, grinning triumphantly.

"All yours Kirito," Michael grinned.

Kayaba spun toward Kirito as Kirito charged. Kayaba summoned his menu, equipping a pitch black shield and a blood red longsword just in time to block Kirito's swords with his shield.

"I'm not as defenseless as you thought," Kayaba snarled.

"However, you are now restricted to the same rules as the rest of us sword and shield users, meaning you have to switch between offense and defense," Michael stated. "And your shield and sword can now break from something other than itself."

Kirito shoved Kayaba back and began to slash at him rapidly. Kayaba cursed, barely fending off the blows, sparks flying everywhere and their feet kicking up dust. Finally, Kayaba spun, allowing Kirito to stagger past, giving Kayaba enough room to switch to offense, to which Kirito grinned triumphantly, swords glowing blue. Kayaba raised his sword to fight just as Kirito's Elucidator slashed it aside. Then, Kayaba realized he had lost. Kirito's swords began to tear through Kayaba as Kirito ran through Starburst Stream. Finally, the ability ended, blasting Kayaba back, barely any health left. That wasn't all though. His shield, sword, and chest plate shattered, leaving Kayaba in armored pants, gauntlets, a black tee-shirt, and boots.

"No," Kayaba breathed. "This can't be happening. It's not supposed to happen this way."

"Shame," Kirito grinned. "It's too bad that you relied so heavily on Holy Sword. You couldn't even beat Michael without it."

Kirito's Elucidator glowed blue and he streaked forward. Kayaba smiled in spite of himself, spreading his arms and accepting his fate. Kirito's sword split Kayaba in half and both haves shone then shattered.

"It's...it's over," Kirito breathed.

_"On November seventh at two fifty five PM, the game has been cleared,"_ the alert system announced. _"Repeat, the game has been cleared."_

Kirito looked around as players began to be enveloped in blue light, one at a time. He walked over to Asuna and knelt. However, just as Kirito opened his mouth to speak, Michael's vision went white.

* * *

Read and review. Part 1 complete, finally. Part two was the one I cared about. If you're still bothering to read this, thank you. I know it's not a great story, by any means. But it'll be better when he's in ALfeim and Gun Gale. I promise.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Logged On

Michael's eyes opened and his unused muscles began to ache painfully instantly. He groaned, sitting up and his nurse quickly rushed over to try to make him lay back down again.

"I'm fine," Michael stated. "I think it's long past time I stretch my muscles."

The nurse, knowing better than to argue with Michael, agreed and instead helped him up, helping him walk around. After a bit, he got dressed then left the room, his nurse helping him to the cafeteria then allowing him to call the man who had hired him with her phone. Within a few hours, the rehab he was going to need was payed for.

Over the next couple of weeks, doctors watched as he built his body back up before agreeing he was fit to stop rehab. When they finally did, he celebrated by going to the mall and buying a virtual reality game he had heard about from his doctors called ALfheim Online. It was based on Sword Art Online in the sense that it used the same engine, programming and graphics format as SAO. Aside from that, there was an entire world of differences.

"Alright," Michael grinned as he got home and put the game in, plugging in his Nerve Gear. "Time to play."

He lay down, putting on the device that had once threatened his life and smiling. He couldn't wait to test out the game. After a moment, he was pulled into the game and found himself in large round room with glowing orange circles below him and glowing white squares on the walls.

"Welcome, to ALfheim Online," a pleasant female voice greeted as a keyboard appeared in front of him. "Please enter your gender and the name you wish to be identified as."

He quickly typed in his own name as he had when he joined SAO and selected Male. A moment later, a ring of glowing fairies appeared, each with a different color scheme and differently shaped wings.

"There are nine races of fairies to choose from," the voice stated. "Please select which race you wish to play as."

He cycled through all of them, reading about them and then turned to the green one, a Sylph.

"So, this one's the fastest by default huh?" Michael mused. "But I hate the color green. The Spriggan would be more my style. But then again, Sylphs can use wind magic and are fast as apposed to illusion and treasure hunting. Shit. I'll get over it."

He selected the Sylph.

"You have selected Sylph," the voice so helpfully chimed. "Your character's appearance will be decided at random. Do you wish to continue?"

"What?" Michael blinked. "No character customization? That's a ripoff."

He selected continue none the less and the voice gave its final message.

"You will now be teleported to your hometown in Sylph territory," the voice informed him. "Good luck Player."

His vision went white and when it returned, he was falling. He looked down, the horrid sight of lime green clothes meeting him. He sighed and rolled over, seeing a city rushing up to greet him. He could hear voices from below and saw a pair of players below him spot him.

"Newbie," he heard one say.

"I got him," another stated flying up and catching Michael.

"Thanks," Michael smiled.

"Uh huh," the player sighed floating to the ground and setting him on his feet. "There. Now take a hike."

"Do you by chance have a mirror?" Michael asked.

The one that had stayed on the ground laughed and tossed Michael a mirror. Michael looked in the mirror and his jaw dropped. His avatar looked almost exactly like his SAO character but with blonde hair that was a bit shorter on top and shaved off on the sides, making a high fade. Aside from that minute difference, he was exactly the same as in SAO, and in real life. He handed the mirror back and thanked the player then left, finding a secluded space to check his inventory and stats, where he got a bigger shock. His stats were the same as in SAO. His items were unrecognized. He looked at the programming and within a few minutes had figured out that, due to the two games being so similar at base, in this case in saved data formatting, that his stats had been carried over when he had created his new avatar. The same was true for his appearance.

Michael deleted all of his items from SAO, leaving the ALfheim Online ones alone. The last thing he needed was for the game to think he was a glitch, which he technically was. Once he was done with that, he looked over what was left. Basic clothes, and a knife.

"Damn," Michael sighed. "Alright. I guess for the time being I'll have to be a knife fighter. Same idea, I think."

He began walking down the road and out of town then stopped. There was a group of Sylphs staring at him.

"Why are you walking?" one of them, a blonde with a pony tail down to her knees, what looked like a katana, and an open green coat over a white shirt asked.

"I don't know how to fly," Michael shrugged. "I just started and the guy I met when I got here just laughed at me for being new."

"Yeah that's pretty common," she sighed. "I'm Leafa. If you're going to fly, do it the right way. Just imagine you have bones and muscles growing out of your shoulder blades, basically."

"Um, that doesn't explain anything," Michael stated. "How do I do that and what does that do?"

Leafa sighed as her wings extended and she floated into the air, flying around effortlessly.

"Oh, that," Michael said trying to do what she had told him to. A moment later, wings appeared on his back and he promptly crashed backward into a wall, making the entire group erupt into laughter.

"Ow," Michael groaned standing and trying again, this time shooting into the air, instantly loosing control and flipping and shooting through the air as if some invisible giant was shaking him like a rag doll. "How do I stop this!?"

"You'll figure it out," the girl said between laughing fits.

Finally after a few minutes, he managed to get the hang of it, stopping himself and beginning to fly around as he wanted. It was incredible. He felt a sense of freedom that he had never known. And he felt like he was probably going to be called gay if anyone knew he enjoyed being a fairy.

"There, you're getting the hang of it," Leafa smirked. "So, where were you going?"

"Exploring," Michael stated. "Hoping to find someone to explain how the game works."

"Well, Id explain but we're going on a raid," Leafa stated.

"Raid?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," Leafa nodded. "We're going to attack some Salamanders."

"Can I come?" Michael asked.

"Well...I guess so," Leafa shrugged. "I could explain on the way."

"No," another member said flatly. "No noobs allowed."

"Ah, come on," Michael complained. "I just wanna learn how to play."

"Very well," the member that had refused growled. "You buy weapons and armor at a blacksmith shop. Food at a bakery, if you feel like it. You save by sleeping at an inn. You now know how to fly, and you fight by swinging that toothpick of yours. Let's go Leafa."

"You're an asshole," Michael stated. "I bet I could kill you with this toothpick before you scratch me."

"Is that a threat?" the player asked.

"No, it's a bet," Michael grinned. "What happens when you die?"

"You become what's called a remain light," the player stated drawing his sword, a somewhat standard-looking longsword with the cross guard sharpened as well. "And then either you are revived or you go to the last save, for you, you will simply respawn in a different town."

Michael nodded drawing his knife. It was roughly six inches long, straight, and had a tanto point. He hated it. At the very least it could be longer.

"What's your name?" Michael asked.

"Sigurd," the man stated, flying forward.

He slashed overhead at Michael who stepped aside and drove his knife into Sigurd's chest. Sigurd leapt back, growling in frustration and Michael flipped the knife to reverse grip, crouching.

"Stop it Sigurd," Leafa ordered.

"He wanted the fight," Sigurd stated.

Michael charged this time, sidestepping Sigurd's sword and spinning, slashing the inside of both Sigurd's legs, both sides of his neck, and then drove it down into each lung before leaping back, watching as glowing red "blood" sprayed out of Sigurd's wounds. Then, Sigurd turned into a ball of green flame. Leafa revived Sigurd who stared at Michael a second before turning away.

"You're still not coming," Sigurd stated.

"You have knife training in real life don't you?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah why?" Michael asked.

"Because you can fight," Leafa stated. "Most people prefer swords."

"So don't I," Michael stated. "This thing's just what I was given."

"Oh," Leafa chuckled. "Well, anyway, good luck. We have things to do."

Michael raised a hand as the group flew off then looked around.

"Blacksmith shops, eh?" Michael grinned. "Let's see about that."

* * *

Read and review.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Challenge

Michael walked down the street, spinning his new knife in his right hand as his other hung loosely from his left. Both were identical survival knives, roughly thirteen inches long with a Bowie-knife-style blade that had the first six inches from the grip serrated along the edge. They had green handles and black blades. After a moment, he put them away, hand reaching back and resting on his sword, which was slung diagonally across his back. It was styled after a Greek Hoplight sword but with an entirely black blade and a neon green hilt and scabbard. In addition to the blades, he had bought a suit of armor consisting of a green trench coat with silver pauldrons, green gloves with metal splints on the back, and green converse-style shoes.

"I kinda like the outfit, if it were black," Michael stated. "I wonder if you can dye clothes in this game."

He walked to the edge of town then looked around. Most of the people present were paying him no mind, though a few would throw a glance at him once in a while. He flew into the air, leaving the town behind and flying higher until he could see for miles around. WHen he was high enough, he stopped and looked around. There was a massive tree in one direction and trees as far as he could see every other direction. He shrugged and began to fly toward the tree, not having much else to do. After about ten minutes, however, his wings suddenly vanished and he began to fall.

"Hey what gives!?" he shouted as he fell.

At the last second, a player wearing white clothes and with blue hair caught him and set him on the ground.

"Thanks," Michael sighed. "Why'd my wings disappear?"

"You can only fly for ten straight minutes, then you need to let your wings rest," the player stated. "Don't you know anything about this game?"

"Not really," Michael shrugged. "I heard it was cool and joined."

"Well, you can only fly ten minutes," the player stated. "The big tree you were headed toward is called the World Tree. At the top is the Fairy King, Oberon. The first race to reach him supposedly gets to become a race called an Alf that can fly as long and high as they want. However, you can't fly to the top because it's too high and there's a height barrier to stop piggybacking. The only way up is through the guardians, NPCs that guard the only door into the castle. They're really strong though. Entire gangs of players have gone at them and failed to break through."

"Sounds like a fun fight," Michael grinned. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," the player nodded. "Your race, Sylph, is currently at war with the Salamanders, the ones in red. If you meet them, they'll attack you on principle."

"Thanks for the heads up," Michael grinned. "I should go. See you."

"Yeah," the player nodded as Michael started walking toward the tree again.

Michael walked through the trees until he reached a path and started to follow it. As he did, he heard armor clinking and banging further down the path. He hurried around the bend and found a group of Salamanders walking toward him, all of them laughing and joking but stopped when they saw him.

"You," the leader, judging by the way the others fanned out when he raised his arms, growled. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael, pleasure to meet you," Michael smiled cheerfully.

"Indeed," the leader chuckled. "We'll be taking your items. Then you'll be free to leave."

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that," Michael sighed. "It's a shame too. You all seem like nice enough people, for the most part."

He drew his sword and two Salamanders charged. All of the Salamanders were wielding swords and metal jousting lances but when the two reached Michael, he stepped past both lances and split the two in half. The others staggered back a step before the leader stepped forward, driving his lance into the ground.

"You're not half bad," the leader smirked. "Those two, believe it or not, were some of our strongest payers, and our group is in third for strongest Salamander team. However, you'll still die. However, in the interest of conserving as many troops for the raid as I can, I'll give you one more chance. Give us your items before we have to make a mess of you."

"Strongest players huh?" Michael grinned. "Guess I'll hold onto my stuff then. You guys don't scare me."

"We should," the player stated. "Numbers can defeat even the strongest players."

Three charged at Michael, the first reaching him within seconds. Michael slashed the first's lance aside, causing the player to stagger in front of the next's lance. Michael jumped over the second as the first died and the third launched fireball at him.

"Shit!" Michael swore, rolling out of the way using his wings before landing behind the second Salamander and stabbing him.

The second burned away and Michael charged at the third. As he neared him, four more stepped around the player, all stabbing at Michael together. He bent backward, their lances crashing together before he stood beside it, slashing two then kicking the spell caster. The two that had already attacked along with the leader all charged, the Leader using his lance like a sword and the others trying to stab Michael. Michael stepped out of the way of anything they threw at him before slashing one of the lances into the leader's leg. The leader shouted in pain, dropping to a knee as Michael decapitated both of the others then leapt over a fireball. He spun, hurling his sword at the player, killing him. Then, he landed, drawing his knives as the leader stood.

"You're much stronger than we thought," the Salamander sighed looking around as the last of the Remain Lights faded, leaving him alone. "I think I may know someone who could kill you though."

"Well I do like a good challenge," Michael grinned. "Think you could take me to him?"

"You wanna challenge him?" the Salamander scoffed. "He'd slaughter you."

"I'm not so sure, but I'd love to try," Michael stated. "After all, in a game where you're allowed to die, what's the point in being afraid of dying?"

"Fair enough," the Salamander nodded. "Alright. Follow me."

Michael put his knives away, retrieving his sword and following the player. They flew for roughly eight minutes before landing, a small army of Salamanders instantly landing around them and pointing their weapons at him.

"What is the meaning of this?" a tall Salamander with armor that looked heavier than necessary demanded.

"He wants to challenge General Eugene," the Salamander that had led Michael there stated.

"He what?" the Salamander gaped before grinning. "A tough guy huh? Tell you what kid, I like your attitude. But Eugene would slaughter you."

"Maybe," Michael shrugged. "Maybe not. Wanna find out?"

The Salamander laughed then raised his hand and let it fall. The player who had led him spun, stabbing at him only for Michael to effortlessly knock his lance away and kill him. The Salamanders around him charged, all stabbing at him together and from all sides, making it impossible to dodge.

"Much better strategy than the last group," Michael grinned. "Still, not enough."

He spun, darting at a Salamander to his left and leaping over the lance, killing the Salamander as he went and escaping the attack. Then, he spun, holding his hands out and pulling up his attack screen, reading off one of his offensive spells. Several wind blades shot out of the air in front of him, killing a handful of the players. The rest spun, charging at him.

"Sorry," Michael laughed. "Not going to help."

He jumped to the side, avoiding the initial attack then charged in, slashing several before they could react. Two stabbed at him and he avoided it, allowing them to kill each other. Then, he spun, knocking another stab aside and killing the player while taking the lance. He smashed it into another Salamander like a bat, launching the player away before stabbing another and using his sword to block a lance.

"Who is this guy?" the leader who had been speaking to him earlier gaped, watching Michael drop his soldiers.

"What's going on?" a commanding voice demanded from above, making everyone freeze.

"G-General Eugene," the leader stammered. "Th-This player wished to challenge you. I hadn't wanted to bother you so I attempted to have him deal with but, he was more than we expected."

"Clearly," Eugene snorted. "He's already wiped out almost your entire force. Who are you?"

"I'm Michael," Michael greeted. "Apparently you're about the only guy that can kill me."

Eugene snorted in amusement and floated to the ground drawing a red greatsword with a rounded tip with a notch just below it on both edges, a red gem set into the base of the blade, and a sharpened cross guard. The Salamanders that Michael hadn't killed cleared out of the way and Michael turned toward Eugene, tossing the lance he had borrowed away and readying himself.

"How about a deal?" Michael asked. "Whoever wins revives the other and gets any of their gear they want. Deal?"

"Since you won't win, I'll go ahead and agree," Eugene chuckled. "You may have something worthwhile."

Michael grinned as Eugene charged, moving surprisingly fast for his size. He slashed at Michael and Michael raised his sword to block it. At the point of impact, however, Eugene's sword passed completely through Michael's before tearing into Michael, launching him away. Michael crashed into a wall then stood, groaning but raising his sword.

"That's a cheap trick," Michael growled. "Not an unimpressive one though. I like that sword."

"I do too," Eugene grinned. "Where were we?"

Michael sprinted forward, rolling aside from a slash and standing behind Eugene, slashing at him. Eugene blocked the blade and spun, throwing a kick at Michael. Michael ducked under the kick, slashing again and again Eugene blocked it. Then, Eugene shoved Michael's sword out of the way and slashed at Michael again. Michael leapt over it, narrowly avoiding it and Eugene spun, slashing again. Michael tried to block it but it passed through his sword again, cutting a scratch in Michael's cheek. Eugene began to slash at Michael rapidly and cut small scratches into Michael. Finally Michael slashed and Eugene blocked it grinning as he hadn't taken damage yet.

"Weren't you claiming you could fight me?" Eugene asked.

Michael growled in annoyance and Eugene laughed, flicking Michael's sword away and slashing at Michael, only for Michael to roll aside, drawing his knives. Eugene laughed and readied himself. Michael charged first, slashing at Eugene. The moment sparks flew, Michael's second knife bit into Eugene's leg. Eugene leapt back, growing in annoyance then flew forward. Michael spun out of the way of the sword and sashed Eugene along the side with both knives then chased him. Eugene spun, blocking a knife then leapt over the other, flipping and slashing at Michael from behind. Michael spun out of the way, slashing Eugene's chest repeatedly before Eugene was able to create distance. Both glanced at their health bars, seeing that they were very close to death.

"Alright," Eugene growled. "I'll admit, you turned that around nicely. One more hit and one of us dies."

Michael nodded an agreement and both charged. Both slashed, and at the last second, Michael spun, blocking Eugene's sword with both knives and shoving it away. Just as he spun to attack Eugene, Eugene spun, sword whipping around and then splitting Michael across the chest.

"Shit," Michael sighed before turning into a Remain Light.

"You're pretty good," Eugene smirked. "I'm impressed."

He revived Michael, as per his word and Michael opened his inventory, showing Eugene his gear.

"What the..." Eugene gaped at the list. "How are you so strong with this crap? Keep your shit, I couldn't even sell it for a decent amount of money."

Michael shrugged and retrieved his sword then grinned at Eugene.

"Thanks for the fight," Michael grinned. "That was a lot of fun."

"You're...unique," Eugene stated. "Now get out of here before I kill you for being a Sylph."

Michael grinned then turned and flew away, Eugene turning away and leaving.

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Underground

Michael stepped into the cave system and sighed. He couldn't see anything. He began to walk along, feeling his way along the wall before stopping, summoning his menu and looking through his spells list. Nothing useful. He sighed, continuing along the wall until a light appeared around a corner up ahead. He hurried toward it and skidded to a stop as a pair of Salamanders came into view, one of them holding a torch and both staring at him in surprise.

"Um...suppose we can be civil?" Michael asked.

"Well...we're not soldiers so we don't care about the war," one of the two said.

"Oh thank God," Michael sighed. "Um, do you guys have a spare torch?"

"Sure," the second nodded tossing him one. "I was wondering how you were getting around."

"The hard way," Michael stated lighting the torch. "Thanks."

The two Salamanders nodded and all three set off again, Michael more than happy to break out into a run, since he really didn't feel like fighting when he could barely see, even with the torch. Finally, he came to a massive cavern filled with water with a city in the middle and two bridges leading into it from opposite sides.

"Nice place," Michael mused walking along the bridge. "I hope."

"Hey look," a voice called. "A Sylph."

"Hi," Michael said raising his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

At first, all he could see were silhouettes. Then, a pair of short men with purple hair and clothes and very large purple weapons stepped into the light.

"Who are you?" Michael asked.

"We're the toll collectors," one stated. "You wanna cross our bridge, you gotta pay."

"But I have no money," Michael stated.

"Then you'll have to forfeit some gear," the other stated.

"Trust me, I have nothing you imps would want," Michael promised.

"If you don't give us the gear, we'll take it," the first warned.

"I see," Michael sighed. "I suppose there's no choice then. You'll have to die."

He drew his sword and the first imp charged. The moment his sword met Michael's, the other appeared, slashing at him. Michael leapt backward off the bridge, intending to fly, except his wings didn't work.

"Oh shit!" Michael groaned, falling into the water.

He looked around and his eyes widened. Dozens of massive fish with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes had surrounded him. He gulped, suddenly aware that he had yet to save once. The first fish shot forward and he launched himself to the side, narrowly avoiding its jaws then stabbing his sword into its head. It jerked and began to flail around. After a moment, Michael wrenched his sword out, carving a massive gash in the creature, killing it. Then, a second charged. This one had a long hardened spike on its face like a spear and Michael used his sword to block it, barely. As a result, the fish launched him out of the water and he crashed down back on the bridge, the two imps staring at him in shock.

"How are you alive?" One asked.

"Well..." Michael sighed. "I think I got lucky, but I might just be that good."

"You...a fish threw you out didn't it?" the imp asked.

"Yeah, a fish threw me out," Michael stated.

"Lucky bastard," one of the imps snorted. "Usually the fish destroy the player within seconds. But, now you deal with us."

"Right," Michael sighed. "Can I just go into town instead?"

"No," the imp said flatly, charging at him.

Michael blocked the first slash and spun, shoving the sword away then kicked the imp into the other, both falling off of the bridge.

"Sorry boys," Michael called after them. "I don't have anything for you."

With that, he turned and walked into town, checking the time as he did. He had been playing for thirteen hours. It was well after midnight now.

"I should log out," Michael sighed finding an inn. "I can't wait to get back here."

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes in the real world and sat up, stretching.

It was about midnight and he was hungry. He left his room, finding food and using the bathroom then went to sleep. The next day, he woke up and left his apartment, deciding to meet up with friends. He made a few calls and after an hour, he was leaning against the wall of a hospital commons area where Klein was doing physical therapy.

"How'd you get out so fast?" Klein demanded.

"I was only in-game for a half year," Michael stated. "My body wasn't as bad off as yours."

Klein rolled his eyes, glaring at him before sighing and turning back to his therapist.

"You scouting fun games for me?" Klein asked.

"Found one," Michael stated. "It's called ALfheim Online. It's based off of SAO and is similar except without skills. You have to actually be able to fight. You also have wings and can fly."

"Now that's cool," Klein grinned. "I'll have to try it."

"I shouldn't tell you this but your stats will carry over from SAO if you start soon," Michael stated. "Mine did. It's quite helpful."

Klein glanced back at him, flashing him a grin.

"So even when you want to play fair you still cheat huh?" Klein snorted. "Hacker problems. You gotta teach me a thing or two."

"Like how to remove the Ethics Code?" Michael grinned and Klein stared at him incredulously.

"You did not," Klein gaped.

"Fuck no," Michael laughed. "But you would."

"Hell yeah," Klein snorted.

"Which is why you're not finding out," Michael grinned. "Now do your therapy so you can play."

Klein glared at him then nodded, returning to the task at hand.

"See you around Klein," Michael said. "If you see Kirito, tell him to meet me in-game. I wanna see how good I am."

Klein nodded and Michael left, returning home and entering the game. He left the inn and wandered out into town. He didn't have much money but what he did have would be just enough to buy a shield, he hoped. He felt wrong without one after six months of fighting as a sword-and-shield user. He stopped at the armorer and looked through his inventory. He had three options of shields. Their ratings went along with their prices and he was only just below being able to afford the best.

He sighed, deciding to wait. After all, he was strong enough that he didn't need one at the moment. Though, he'd love to have one for his duel with Kirito. Once he had decided to go without, he turned toward the exit from town and headed out.

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	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the character.

* * *

Swarm

Michael stepped out into the cave, shielding his eyes for a moment and looking around. He was standing at the edge of a large open field and could see the World Tree directly ahead of him, nearer than he had expected when he entered the caves. He smiled, spreading his wings and taking off. He missed being able to fly. Probably not a good thing, given that he didn't want to lose grip on reality, but it was the truth. He loved flying.

"So, wonder what I can do today," Michael thought aloud as he flew.

There were several flying lizard monsters nearby that he could kill for money but for the time being, he really didn't care about them. He wanted to see what the World Tree was like. Not to become an Alf, but he had been told the fight at the base was unwinnable. And he so loved unwinnable fights, at least, in games where you were allowed to die. To be perfectly honest, he didn't care to win the fight. He just wanted to fight the guardian.

After about five minutes of flying, he stopped as dozens of Salamanders shot out of the trees below him, stopping around him. He sighed, drawing his sword as the Salamanders all drew their shields and lances.

"Why do you all have spears?" Michael asked.

"Uniformity," one stated. "We are an army after all."

Michael snorted in amusement, looking around. They all looked exactly alike, except a handful who had black masks.

"Get him," one snarled and they all charged.

Michael sighed and pun, slashing three before flying over the others and stopping as the Salamander's spears crashed together.

"Why are you all after me?" Michael demanded.

"Anyone who could take on General Eugene can't be taken on by any less than this," one of them explained as the Salamanders below Michael shot up at him. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Well sure, usually," Michael stated, slashing the first player to reach him across the chest then flying out of the way of the others.

Just as he did, a dozen fireballs flew at him from all sides. He swore, gritting his teeth as the spells blasted him. He fell, barely conscious and his body screaming in pain. He righted himself, clutching his sword tightly.

"That hurt," Michael growled. "A whole lot more than the injuries Eugene gave me. I hate burns."

He flew forward, zipping past several soldiers and attacking the closest mage. It died, along with two more before three lances impaled Michael from behind.

"Shit," Michael growled. "Today's just not my day."

He spun, throwing the players away and pulling the lances out of himself, hurling them into three more mages. Just as he finished, more fireballs shot at him. He flew upward, narrowly escaping the explosion, then spun, using his sword to deflect several lances. He slashed one of the player's throats then dropped, a fireball crashing into another player and killing several. He turned, narrowly avoiding one of the commanders' lances then slashed at him, sword sparking against the player's shield.

"I thought you were going to be a threat," the commander snickered. "Shame."

Michael slashed at him again and the Commander dodged sideways, allowing nine fireballs to blast Michael all at once. Michael crashed to the ground,groaning as his health continued to fall.

"Shit," Michael sighed. "That's disappointing."

His health hit zero and he sighed again as he burned away to a Remain Light. Then, the light faded after several moments. A moment later, he opened his eyes in the same inn he had just left. He sighed standing and opening his inventory. He still had his equipped gear and torch, but all of his money and any extra items he had gotten were gone.

"Damn," Michael sighed. "Well, at least I don't have anything to lose if I die again. Maybe they aren't waiting anymore."

He left the inn again, retracing his steps and flying toward the World tree again. Soon enough, the same group, or at least, what remained of it, met him, a group of soldiers, including the commanders, in front with their shields raised and behind them was a line of mages, the ones who had been launching fireballs at him before. There were also some more mages behind him but he wasn't sure what they were for.

"Welcome back," one of the commanders greeted. "Shall we go again?"

Michael flew forward, slashing at them only for their shields to block it. Then, fireballs appeared around the soldiers on all sides. Michael swore, flying backward and barely avoiding the blast then grinning.

"Let's test that speed of yours," Michael grinned.

He flew sideways, shooting around the soldiers and at the fire mages. They began to rapidly launch fireballs at him, forcing him to veer sideways and begin to avoid their attacks instead. He finally began to go forward again, avoiding their attacks as best he could as he shot toward them. Just as he slashed at on, a soldier appeared beside him, stabbing at him. He avoided the lance and a fireball crashed into him, blasting him away. He flipped over, stopping himself and flew at the soldiers again. Two broke ranks, hurling their lances at him and he dodged both as the two Salamanders few at him while drawing swords. He grinned, blocking a slash from the first then flipping over the second and grabbing his shield, using it to flip and kick the player away, keeping the shield. He put it on and grinned, raising it. The player that still had his shield stabbed at Michael and Michael spun out of the way, smashing the shield into the player's throat, grinning as he saw that he essentially had Holy Sword in ALfheim Online.

The player flew backward, coughing and clutching his throat as fireballs shot at Michael. He grinned, avoiding most but one was delayed and flew directly at him. He grinned, smashing the shield into the fireball. It exploded but did no damage to him. He spun, blocking the Salamander who's shield he stole using the shield then moved his shield out of the way, forcing the sword aside and slashed the player. Then, Michael flipped, flying downward as fireballs and the other Salamander with a sword followed. He swerved at the last second and the fireballs exploded, blocking the other Salamander's vision and making him crash headlong into the ground, killing him. Michael arched through the air, flying at the mages again. They began to fire at him and he avoided the fireballs, making it very close to them before raising the shield, blocking three, the blast launching the mages as well.

They all righted themselves as the other group of mages healed them. Michael narrowed his eyes, flying at the other group. The soldiers flew to intercept him but Michael spun, hurling the shield into the group and delaying them enough for him to reach the mages, quickly slaughtering them then spinning and flying over a fireball. The soldiers reached him and he swept two lances out of the way, slashing two players then flipping over another lance, slashing that player and taking his shield. He spun, knocking the other soldiers away by slamming his sword into their shields. They all were forced back and Michael put the shield on, flying at one of the soldiers. They stabbed at him and he nocked the lance aside with his shield, slashing the player then spinning and blocking both of the other spears. He shoved them aside and slashed the soldiers then dropped under a volley of fireballs, flying at the mages. They began to fire at him rapidly, staggering it for speed. He held his shield up, blocking the attacks as he flew forward, pulling his sword back. At the last second, the shield was blasted away from him and he swore, rolling out of the way of a fireball then slashing the first mage. He spun, slashing four more then grabbed a sixth and threw him into the path of a fireball, killing him. The last two turned to flee but before they could, Michael flew past, slashing both of them. Then, he shot down to the ground, stopping his descent ten feet up just as his wings ran out.

He landed on his feet, sighing and putting his sword away. He had gotten gold from all of them but that was it. Both shields he had stolen had been lost, leaving him basically exactly as he had been before they had interfered but with less money. He began to walk through the trees in the general direction of the World Tree and after roughly ten minutes he stopped, sitting down and looking up at the sky. He was starting to wish he could fly constantly. He hated walking. He looked around and felt his eyes growing heavy.

"I suppose this is as good a place as any to sleep," Michael sighed closing his eyes and drifting off.

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	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Guardians

Michael stepped up to the gate to Arun, staring at the city beyond. It was massive, and he could see players of all races, none trying to kill each other. Even Sylphs and Salamanders. He began walking through the city, stopping at several blacksmith shops. He was unable to afford a shield worth anything so he continued. He saved at the first inn he reached then continued through the city. After nearly a half hour, he stopped, having reached a large door with a pair of fairy statues on either side. He grinned, drawing his sword and walking forward, stopping when the statues blocked the door with their swords.

"Thou knowest not the heights of Heaven above," one of the statues stated. "Dost thou seek entry to the castle of the king?"

Michael blinked, trying to force his brain to understand the way the statue spoke before an alert box opened, asking if he wanted to attempt to clime the World Tree. He selected yes and the box disappeared.

"Go then," the statue said as they moved their swords out of the way. "Prove thou art worthy of thy wings. Prove thou art worthy of flight."

And with that, the door swung open. He grinned, walking into the room beyond, finding himself at a massive domed room with a large flower-like design on the ceiling with a door in the center. The walls were covered with rows upon rows of glowing circles. He assumed that was where the guardians came from. Sure enough, as soon as he took flight, one of the circles shone and a suit of white armor with a large two-handed sword with a ring around the hilt as a guard.

"Nice sword," Michael grinned.

The armor flew at him, slashing at him but he rolled aside, slashing the armor and destroying it.

"This, I can do," Michael grinned just as every one of the thousands of circles began to shine.

Michael's stomach dropped as a suit of armor exited each, instantly forming a cloud he couldn't see through.

"Oh," Michael breathed before grinning. "This is going to be fun."

The guardians all flew at him and he grinned, charging as well. He slashed two swords aside, flipping and beheading one guardian. He kicked another onto the sword of a third and then spun, avoiding a stab and grabbing the hilt, slashing the guardian. He spun, slashing a line of guardians then hurling the sword at another group, killing most of them. Then, he flew upward, slashing his way through three guardians before breaking out of the top of the cloud, rocketing toward the door as the circles glowed again.

"Oh terrific," Michael sighed. "Now what?"

The guardians that came out of the circles this time all formed glowing yellow bows and arrows. They all began to fire and Michael stared in shock at the wall of yellow flying at him.

"God I wish I had a shield," he sighed as the arrows hit him, more than a dozen hitting him.

He growled in agitation, using his sword to break the arrows, making them fade and stop restricting his movement. The guardians with swords flew at him again and he sighed, flying sideways away from more arrows. He met the sword-wielding guardians and blocked two attacks before tearing into them. After roughly three minutes, he spun in a circle, destroying the guardians near him and the rest backed away, their numbers replenishing until he was in a sphere of armor and swords, unable to even see the archers, though he assumed they were getting reinforcements as well. Then, the guardians began to be shredded. the sheer number of arrows tearing through the guardians shredded them so that they couldn't even explode like the ones Michael had been killing had. Then, the full sphere of arrows was through the guardians and the light from so many arrows was blinding.

"Fuck!" Michael shouted just before thousands of arrows hit him, instantly blasting him into a Remain Light. "Damn. I was having fun too. I think I'll get a shield. Nah. More fun with a challenge."

He faded, waking up in the inn he had saved at and left, heading directly back to the door again. Within minutes he reached it and found a pair of players standing outside the door.

"Hey, didn't you just..." one of them began. "You're not going to try again are you?"

"Yep," Michael grinned. "It was fun."

He approached the door and the statues gave him the same greeting before allowing him to choose to enter. The door opened and he walked in, drawing his sword. As soon as the door closed, he rocketed upward, a single guardian appearing and flying at him. He slashed avoided it, flying around the room with the guardian chasing him.

"I see," Michael grinned. "So they only appear after you die."

He flipped over, rocketing past the guardian and splitting it in half as he did. The circles all glowed and Michael opened his menu, beginning to read off one of his offensive spells, the same he had used last time. The moment the guardians appeared, wind blasts formed and fired away from Michael, shredding several. Michael grinned, flying sideways as guardians chased him. One flew around in front of him and he blocked its sword, flipping over it and allowing it to block five swords before shoving him sideways and slashing the wielders of the swords. Then, he spun, blocking another sword and killing its owner. He flew toward the door, guardians swarming above him as he did. He stopped, grinning and using his spell again. It killed roughly a dozen but failed to make any noticeable dent. Then, the guardians began to swarm down at him. He quickly scanned through his spells and read off one for making a shield. A blue force field appeared around him, the guardians being blasted into pieces when they hit it, but they continued to fly at him. And Michael's energy, or magic power, or mana, or whatever ALfheim Online called it, was quickly running out.

Finally a guardian crashed into the shield sword first and it shattered, the guardian slashing at Michael. Michael flipped over the blade, drawing his sword and splitting the guardian before flying away from the rest as fast as he could. He would stop and kill a few every so often but he knew he wasn't even delaying the inevitable. After all, their numbers continued to grow by the second. Finally, he stopped, flying the other way and carving his way into the swarm, receiving numerous wounds but still managing to kill dozens of guardians. Finally they all backed away and the archers appeared. Michael began to use his shielding spell, finishing just in time for the shield to block the first sphere of arrows, barely. Michael didn't wait around for the second, he released his shield and drew his sword, flying away. The guardians with swords moved to block him but he slashed his way through them quickly. Just as he reached the archers, they all fired again. He received three arrows from the three directly in front of him but managed to get behind an archer, using him to block the rest of the arrows. Then, he began to fly around the room, slashing guardians as he went. After a moment, he blocked a sword and a guardian with a sword appeared behind him, stabbing him. He spun, killing both then flew away from the wall as more guardians began to grow out of it, both archers and sword-wielders alike.

"This doesn't look good," Michael sighed as the archers all aimed at him again.

He began flying and arrows began to zip past his head. He swerved and dodged, avoiding the arrows for a time and nearing the ground just as swords began to stab into the ground along with arrows.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Michael shouted rolling over to look up at them. "You all s-"

He was cut off by a guardian appearing behind him out of a circle on the wall and stabbing him. He transformed into a Remain Light instantly and sighed in frustration when he saw what had killed him.

"Figures," Michael growled. "Oh well. Maybe after lunch."

When he woke up in the inn, he logged out, leaving his house and going to a restaurant, where he had had a couple of friends. According to the waitress, they had all gotten done within the last six months. He would have to remember to call them later. He ordered a burger and fries and ate slowly, trying to think of a way to beat the guardians. In the end, his brain always returned to one fact. He needed help. And that led his brain to the one person that would be useful.

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	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Visitor

Michael sat in the chair and Kirito sat on the bed, smiling at his friend.

"So, I take it your therapy went well," Kirito stated.

"Still have to do a therapy session every week but for the most part, yeah," Michael nodded. "Yours?"

"Getting there," Kirito sighed. "Would you find it weird if I told you I miss playing?"

"Not at all," Michael stated. "I'm playing again already."

"Really?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "It's a new game. I'd tell you about it, but you need to focus on your therapy."

"It's alright," Kirito nodded. "I really don't think I'm going to be playing for a while...Asuna never woke up."

"The doctors don't know why?" Michael asked.

"No," Kirito sighed shaking his head. "I go to see her any time they let me out. It's not often though. But I'm going to wait until she wakes up."

"Right," Michael nodded. "Is she the only one?"

"No," Kirito stated. "Exactly three hundred didn't."

"That's too perfect a number for it to be a coincidence," Michael stated.

"I agree," Kirito stated. "But what can we do?"

"I don't know," Michael sighed before a thought occurred to him. "Hey, did you wake up Yui yet?"

"No," Kirito said. "I don't have a computer."

Michael grinned and said he'd be back then went home, getting his laptop and bringing it back to the hospital, giving it to Kirito. Kirito opened it, logging into trying to log onto his SAO account but couldn't find the servers.

"No," Kirito breathed. "Their gone."

"The servers?" Michael asked.

Kirito nodded. Michael took the computer, typing away on the keyboard, and after a moment, Kirito's account opened up. He scanned through the items until he found Yui and clicked on it, entering some code. A moment later, he sighed.

"What?" Kirito asked.

"I can't," Michael stated. "Whatever you did, she can't be returned to AI form from Real Life."

"Then, what do we do?" Kirito asked.

"Well, there are two options," Michael stated. "First, you could join the game I'm playing. All of your items would transfer over because you had an SAO save and I could make Yui into an item from this game, allowing you to return her to her form when you get there. Second, I could switch her over and transfer her to my character and return her to AI form myself and then find you when you inevitably join."

"She would enjoy being able to be something other than an item," Kirito stated. "But she would be unhappy that I wasn't there. What if it doesn't work, or she doesn't remember?"

"I honestly don't know," Michael stated. "I could probably fix it if it doesn't work, it would just take a little bit of programming, but if she didn't remember it would be a lot harder."

"But not impossible?" Kirito asked.

"No," Michael smiled. "Not imposible."

Kirito nodded and looked back at the computer.

"Let me think about it," Kirito finally decided. "I want to wait and bring her back with Asuna there."

"I understand," Michael nodded closing the laptop. "Here, as a gift for getting us out of that game."

He handed Kirito the computer and Kirito smirked at him.

"Right, because you definitely had no hand in that," Kirito snorted.

"You finished him," Michael smirked. "Anyway, I better go. I have to get a job soon."

Kirito nodded and they said their goodbyes. Then, Michael left to meet the only friend he still knew how to find and beg and grovel for a job.

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	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Mercenary

Michael collapsed onto his bed, groaning. He had thought his body was ready for work, but it had only barely made it through the day. Working in a warehouse, lifting boxes of junk onto shelves or conveyor belts or putting it in dumpsters may not be very physically taxing for a normal person, but Michael's body felt like it had been rolled in shredded glass then dropped in a pool of rubbing alcohol. Maybe not quite to that extent but it was bad.

He groaned, grabbing his NerveGear and starting ALfheim Online up, putting the helmet on and lying down. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and stood, smiling and stretching, enjoying not being in pain. He left the inn, looking around just as someone grabbed his shoulder, dragging him into an alleyway and covering his mouth.

"Shut up, I need to talk to you, you need to listen," a voice whispered urgently.

Michael nodded and the hand released him, allowing him to turn and see a young and scrawny Sylph with a bowl cut and a dagger horizontally across the back of his waist.

"I remember you," Michael stated. "You were in that Sylph group with...what was it...Leafa?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded. "I'm Recon. None of the others will admit it but we are going to need some help. We're going to take out a Salamander base and were outnumbered five to one."

"That sounds like fun," Michael grinned.

"Yeah," Recon nodded. "That way of thinking is why we need your help. I heard that you assaulted the World Tree once to test the guardians and see if what you had heard was right then once immediately after just for fun. I also heard that you fought General Eugene and nearly defeated him. We need your help with the numbers but also because there is a chance that one of the Salamander's top ten lieutenants is going to be there."

"What would my job consist of?" Michael asked.

"You would have to fight the Salamanders with Sigurd," Recon stated. "Then, when we fall back, hold them off for about a minute then get away."

"That's awful risky on my part," Michael stated. "Sure. I'm game. What happens if I kill them all though?"

"Then you're an awesome fighter," Recon stated. "Let's go."

He flew into the air, leaving the city and Michael followed. After about three minutes, Recon dropped back to talk to him.

"I'm going to act like you've been following me and won't leave," Recon stated. "Please don't let anyone know I asked for your help."

"Deal," Michael nodded.

He slowed down and Recon sped up, then Michael began to follow him again. Recon landed in a clearing after a bit, the rest of his group coming out of the trees to talk to him. Then, Michael landed off to one side and they all turned toward him.

"Hey guys," Michael grinned raising a hand. "Long time no see. Still weak I see Sigurd."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sigurd demanded.

"I saw your friend passing by and thought I'd follow him," Michael stated. "Why? We doing something fun?"

"_You_ aren't doing anything," Sigurd snarled. "And it's none of your business what we're doing."

"Ah, I see," Michael nodded. "Another raid then."

Sigurd stared at him incredulously and Michael chuckled.

"Come on, let me tag along," Michael said. "I'll be an extra sword in case things get ugly and I'll give you guys all the loot I get when we're done. I just like to fight."

"No!" Sigurd snapped.

"Come on Sigurd," Leafa spoke up. "We know we're outnumbered, badly, and he'd come in handy if we're right about who's there."

"Sounds like fun," Michael grinned. "Who is it? Captain? General? Lieutenant? Is he strong?"

"Yes," Leafa stated.

"Shut up Leafa!" Sigurd snapped. "You're not coming and that's final."

"Alright, alright," Michael stated. "But I think I just happen to be going in the same direction as you guys. Which was you going again?"

"South," Sigurd growled.

"North huh?" Michael guessed, grinning at Sigurd's disgusted annoyed groan and Leafa stifling a laugh.

"You're not following us," Sigurd snarled.

"You gonna stop me?" Michael grinned, hands twitching toward his knives. "Look, you can leave me behind if you want but if you try to lose me when I follow you'll waste precious flight time and you won't lose me anyway. I can probably outfly most of your gang."

"Not Leafa," Recon stated, Sigurd shooting him a dirty look. "What? He can't."

"We're wasting time," one of the others spoke up. "Look, let the kid follow if he wants. If not, shit happens."

Leafa nodded and Sigurd glared at Michael but nodded as well. Then, he turned, taking off and flying quite fast away. The others followed and Michael brought up the rear for a bit, flying beside Leafa.

"So, what have you been up to?" Michael asked.

"You'll see in a bit," Leafa grinned. "You?"

"Assaulting the world tree," Michael shrugged.

"Really?" Leafa asked.

"Mhm," Michael nodded. "It's really fun. I love fights I know I can't win, at least when...never mind."

"What?" Leafa asked.

"It's nothing," Michael stated. "Forget I said anything. I'm going to go annoy Sigurd."

He sped up, easily catching up to Sigurd and Sigurd ignored him as Michael turned backward, avoiding any obstacles or creatures he could have run into.

"So, whatcha been doin?" Michael grinned.

"Go away," Sigurd grunted.

"Where's the fun in that?" Michael asked. "It's more fun to annoy you."

"If you don't go, I'll let you fight all of the Salamanders alone," Sigurd warned.

"You would?" Michael asked, making a false starstruck face. "Truly? Oh you're so generous." He laughed and then grinned at Sigurd. "I don't know when you'll figure this out but I love to fight, especially when I can't possibly win. Guess I lost my mind there."

The last part was more to himself than Sigurd but Sigurd ignored it, not caring.

"Just focus," Sigurd snarled. "We're almost there."

Michael rolled over, drawing his sword as Sigurd and the others did the same. Sigurd motioned for Michael to follow then branched off, Michael close behind him. The two of them landed in the center of a fort, dozens of Salamanders streaming out of it to surround them. Michael grinned, eyeing all of the shields he might be able to steal then looked over at Sigurd to see him leaning on his sword.

"Please, after you," Sigurd invited and Michael laughed once before charging into the Salamanders, startling a couple and killing six before they could react.

The Salamanders turned to fight him, several more meeting his blade as they did. Finally, one attacked him and he swept the lance aside, the weapon burying itself in another Salamander before Michael's blade split the owner of the lance, grinning as he did. Three more attacked him and he jumped, spinning and kicking their heads, snapping them around backward and killing them. A soldier smashing Michael with their shield and he spun at the last second, stepping sideways and having a lance tear a gash in his side as opposed to stabbing him. He slashed the owner, taking the lance and knocked over a line of soldiers with it before driving it into one's face and releasing it, sprinting forward and tearing into more soldiers.

"You know," Michael said, killing a soldier every few words as he spoke. "Your strategy...would have been...better...if you had...a few less...soldiers...Less crowded...so more room...to maneuver."

He jumped over a spear and landed on the Salamander's shoulders, twisting his legs and breaking the soldier's neck before dropping to the ground, slashing another player. One stabbed at him and he caught the lance, spinning and smashing the soldier into another then driving the lance through both. Just as he spun to fight the rest, which was about half, they all backed away and one with a heavier suit of armor and a greatsword with a silver blade and a red hilt walked out of the base, a few more Salamanders following with Leafa and the others bound and at knifepoint.

"Drop your weapons," the lieutenant ordered, stabbing his sword into the ground in front of him and resting his hands on the pommel. "If you don't, we kill them."

"Why not fight me?" Michael invited.

"Fight a player who can slaughter half of my force with barely a scratch?" the lieutenant scoffed. "That's funny. No, we're going to play this my way. Drop the blades."

Leafa shook her head, screaming into her gag for him to kill the lieutenant, probably using a different vocabulary, but Michael stabbed his own sword into the ground, dropping his knives beside it. Two soldiers flew forward, thrusting their lances at him. He grinned, stepping back six inches and catching both lances under his arms. The players flew past, crashing into the ground and dying and Michael flipped the lances into the air. The soldiers holding Leafa and the others followed them with their eyes and Michael grabbed his knives, hurling them and killing two of the four. Leafa grabbed a knife and killed the other two then got her sword and Michael's other knife as Michael caught the lances and turned sideways, holding one over his head pointed at a forty five degree angle with the ground and the other horizontally in front of himself. The Lieutenant was less than pleased but just as Michael stepped forward, the rest of the Salamanders arrived. Michael spun, both lances bashing players away rapidly before the lieutenant stepped around a Salamander, slashing at Michael.

Michael moved to block it and the sword cut through the lance, destroying it instantly. Michael did a backward hand spring, hurling the lance into the cloud of Salamanders before flipping backward, landing on his hands on the pommel of his sword and spinning, kicking three players away before spinning and flipping to the ground, pulling his sword up in time to block the lieutenant's.

"You're not half bad," the lieutenant complimented. "I don't think I've ever seen someone fight quite like you."

"Unfortunately, fighting you will prove to be harder for me than fighting your troops," Michael stated. "Fighting a group is excellent because you have human shields and you can use their weapons against them. In a dual, it's all you. Without a shield, I'm not fighting at full capacity."

The lieutenant's eyes widened and then he grinned and spun past Michael, slashing at his back. Michael flipped his sword over his shoulder, blocking the blade before flipping backward, supporting himself on the lieutenant's blade and landing behind it, spinning and slashing at the lieutenant. The lieutenant blocked the slash then shoved the blade out of the way, stabbing at Michael. Michael spun out of the way, the sword missing by less than a centimeter. Then, Michael slashed at the lieutenant from below. The lieutenant stepped back, avoiding the blade before kicking at Michael. Michael blocked it with his shin, gritting his teeth against the pain but spinning, swinging his heel around at the lieutenant's head. The lieutenant ducked under it, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked the sword, foot connecting with the side of the lieutenant's knee. The lieutenant dropped to one knee, stabbing his sword into the ground then leaping backward away from it, avoiding a slash from Michael. He grabbed a lance and stepped forward, slashing at Michael with it. Michael blocked the lance, knocking it aside as the lieutenant spun in that direction, swiping at Michael with it. Michael jumped back and the lieutenant followed, stabbing at him rapidly. Michael deflected the attacks but a few managed to knick him on the shoulder, thigh, and cheek. Finally, Michael sidestepped the lance and slashed at the lieutenant who had already leapt back, landing beside his sword and picking it up.

"You're quite impressive," the lieutenant stated. "Even not fighting at your full capacity, you're quite skilled a fighter."

He sprinted forward, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked it, spinning and slashed at the lieutenant. The lieutenant ducked under it, spinning and slashing rapidly at Michael. Michael fended off the blows for several seconds before flipping over a horizontal slash and then blocking one in mid air, being launched into a wall, sliding to the ground and groaning as he stood.

"I'd applaud but that would leave me open," Michael grinned looking around at the audience of Salamanders, grinning as he realized the others had made their escape already. "You're not half bad yourself."

He sidestepped three stabs then diverted one slash over his head before the lieutenant released the sword, another appearing strapped to his side, this one a katana, which he drew and slashed with in one fluid motion, allowing for Michael to have no time to block it. Michael crouched, bending forward at the waist and barely getting below the blade. He spun sideways, stepping to his side and standing on the safe side of the blade, raising his own just in time to block the second blade, which the lieutenant also released as the greatsword spun down, landing in the lieutenant's hands over his head, the lieutenant slashing down at Michael without even having to change the direction of the blade, allowing him to use its full momentum. Michael turned sideways, the blade crashing down as Michael slashed at the lieutenant who released the sword, stomping on the katana's buttcap as he leapt back, the katana flipping into the air as a large cleaver appeared on the lieutenant's back. He drew it and slashed at Michael. Michael blocked it, flicking it into the sky just as the lieutenant spun, catching the lieutenant and spinning, slashing at Michael's left side. Michael blocked the blade, spinning and smashing his elbow into the lieutenant's head, knocking him away then catching the katana and hurling it at the lieutenant, the sword spinning through the air at him.

The lieutenant held his hand up, catching the sword by the grip perfectly and turning the blade around so the edge was out then flipped it to reverse grip and charged forward, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked the blade and the Lieutenant spun past him, leaving the katana to clatter to the ground once again. Michael turned as the cleaver removed his left arm. The lieutenant spun, meaning to bisect Michael but Michael blocked the blade, diverting it up and over himself again then instantly sashing downward. When the lieutenant released the sword and jumped back, Michael lunged, his slash turning into a stab. The lieutenant was able to get around his greatsword, pulling it free of the ground, the flat of the blade blocking Michael's stab before the lieutenant twisted the blade, Michael stumbling forward as the Lieutenant slashed diagonally up at him. Michael dodged sideways, receiving only a scratch on his right shoulder then spun, stabbing at the lieutenant again with the lieutenant again blocking the stab, the greatsword now held in reverse the Lieutenant could do anything, Michael flipped over him, kicking him in the back of the head.

The lieutenant staggered forward and Michael flew after him, slashing him as he passed then crashing into the wall. He slid to the ground, panting after the fight, his health in the red but slowly regenerating. The lieutenant smirked and snorted in amusement before transforming into a remain light, his swords going with him. Michael pushed himself up, turning toward the other Salamanders who all raised their lances, seeing that Michael would not be able to defeat them. After a moment of silence and no movement, however, wind blasts hit them all in the back, killing them all. Then, Leafa landed beside Michael, healing him and pulling him to his feet, holding up his knives. Michael grinned, accepting them and put them away before they all flew away from the base.

"That was the most incredible fighting I've ever seen," Leafa stated.

"You should see my friend," Michael snorted, Kirito's skill replaying in his mind. "Here."

He sent her everything he had gotten in the fight, since he had gotten no shields and not enough money for a good one. She stared at it a minute then smiled over at him and accepted it.

"You're one of a kind, you know that?" Leafa laughed.

"You have no idea," Michael stated, chuckling to himself. "And don't you forget it."

Leafa laughed and Michael looked toward the World Tree.

"You heading back?" Leafa asked.

"Probably," Michael nodded. "Unless you need me for anything."

"We might have a raid or two next week," Leafa stated.

"Send me a message," Michael smirked. "I'll be at the tree getting my ass kicked."

He raised a hand and she and Recon both waved as he branched off, heading back to the tree and saving and logging out at an inn at the base of the tree.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Located

Michael groaned, laying on his bed. It had been a very long time since he had played. He had gone on another raid with Leafa and her group then had told her he wouldn't be playing for a while. Once he had logged off, he had started to work on his ability to work, trying to rehab himself. He had been cleared to stop rehab after the first meeting but his job was killing him, maybe literally given the amount of pain simple tasks caused. Finally, though, his body was starting to recover. And Kirito and the others were scheduled to be released from the hospital the next day. He smiled looking at his NerveGear. He missed the game. Just as he picked up the helmet, he got a message from Kirito. He opened it and raised an eyebrow.

"Come to my hospital room. I wanna talk about Yui."

He sighed, setting the helmet down and left, heading to the hospital and sitting down beside Kirito.

"What's up?" Michael asked.

"I want you to wake her up and see if she remembers, that way you can deal with it before Asuna sees her," Kirito stated. "Also, I want you to look into what VRMMOs are around right now. Asuna has to be trapped in one since she still hasn't woken up yet. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "I thought the same thing. All three hundred of them are. I'll look into it, but I don't think there are very many."

"I know," Kirito nodded. "I think you might actually be playing the only one."

"I know," Michael nodded. "Let me see the laptop. I'll transfer Yui."

Kirito handed it over and Michael quickly and easily transferred Yui to his own ALfheim Online avatar's inventory then handed the computer back. Then, he stood and smiled.

"See you on the outside Kirito," Michael said raising his hand. "I'll meet you at Agil's bar once you get out. I'll tell you what game it is then."

Kirito smirked but nodded and Michael left. When Michael got home, he lay down, starting up ALfheim Online and putting his NerveGear on then closed his eyes. A moment later, he got up in the inn and opened his inventory, easily finding Yui and selecting it, a teardrop shaped crystal dropping into his hand. He activated the item and a moment later, a glowing silhouette appeared in front of him and Yui formed. She landed lightly on the bed beside Michael's and stared at him a moment.

"You're that guy that helped Mommy and Daddy," Yui stated.

"Oh good, so you remember them," Michael smiled.

"Uh huh," Yui nodded. "Where are they?"

"Well, your dad's not on this game yet," Michael stated. "Oh, right. We're not in SAO, we're in a game called ALfheim Online. It's copied from the SAO servers so you might have some trouble telling it apart."

Yui nodded an agreement.

"So, anyway, your dad's still recovering from his time in SAO," Michael stated. "Your mom is still asleep. We think she might be trapped in a VRMMO still. Do you know how many there are that are actively being played?"

"Only this one," Yui reported after a moment. "So you think Mommy's here?"

"It's possible," Michael nodded. "Hey, are you still an Admin or is the game recognizing you as an NPC?"

"Actually, it's identifying me as a navigation pixie," Yui stated.

"That works," Michael grinned. "Well, I suppose we should get going. If this is the only game, we need to get searching for your mother."

Yui nodded and was engulfed in smoke. When it cleared, she was a fairy in a pink dress small enough to fit in his pocket, which she did. He left the inn, heading toward the World Tree first for one last try at the guardians before heading out to search for Asuna. Just as he reached the main plaza, Yui came out of his pocket, pointing up at the tree and screaming "Mommy". He looked up and groaned.

"At the top?" Michael asked.

"Uh huh!" Yui nodded.

"Back in you go Yui," Michael sighed. "We're going to have to go in the hard way."

Before he could enter the tree, five Sylphs ran over and began to stack up.

"Hey guys," Michael called, the players all looking at him. "You're piggy backing up aren't you?"

"We're going to try," one said. "You want in?"

"Sure," Michael nodded.

He flew to the top of the players, crouching low for as much balance as he could get and the bottom player took off. One by one, they all fell away as they climbed until finally it was Michael's turn. He leapt off of the player below him, raising a hand in fair well before flying up as fast as he could. He sped up toward the branches but his wings began to lose power just as he neared the lowest branches.

"Yui, can you find your mother?" Michael asked.

"Yes, she's there!" Yui pointed and Michael saw a birdcage of sorts.

"Take as many pictures as you can and zoom in," Michael stated, stopping, knowing he had only a few seconds on his wings.

Yui turned toward the birdcage, taking pictures as zoomed in as she could. Then, Michael's wings lost power and they began to fall. As they did, Michael had her send the pictures to his desk top before they could die. Then, she hid in his pocket again. At the last second, the base of the player tower caught Michael and set him on his feet.

"Thanks for the save," Michael smirked. "Sorry it didn't work."

"It's okay," the Sylph stated.

"Attention gamers," the alert system spoke up. "The system will be updated in six hours. For your safety, please log out as soon as possible."

"What now?" the Sylph demanded.

"Probably a hight limit and a barrier around the tree," Michael chuckled. "Should have had one more while we had the chance. Well, I gotta go. See you around."

The Sylph nodded, and they both headed to a different inn, Michael heading to the one he had been using. Once there, he logged out, making sure Yui would be safe during the update first.

* * *

Kirito looked at his phone as he stepped out of his house two days later and saw Michael had called him. He called and Michael answered, saying one sentence before hanging up.

"Meet me at Agil's shop," Michael stated.

Kirito opened his mouth to speak but Michael was already gone. Kirito shrugged, putting his phone away and heading toward Agil's bar. When he arrived, Agil was there, talking to Michael, numerous pictures spread across the table along with a game.

"What's up?" Kirito asked.

"See for yourself," Michael stated pushing the pictures to Kirito.

Kirito picked them up, looking through them as his eyes widened. There was no mistaking it. It was Asuna.

"Where..." Kirito asked before seeing the game. "In there?"

Michael nodded.

"Yui took the pictures," Michael stated.

"Yui..." Kirito nodded and glanced at the game again.

"Take it," Agil said. "Bring her home so we can all meet up here."

Kirito smiled and thanked him, picking up the game and looking to Michael.

"I'll meet you inside," Michael stated. "Your stats are going to carry over so don't be afraid to have some fun while you wait. And PKing is okay. You can't die from this game."

Kirito nodded and both left, hurrying to their house where both logged on, Kirito making his character.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Welcome

Michael opened his eyes at the inn and sat up, Yui flying up to his shoulder instantly.

"Hello Yui," Michael smiled. "Your daddy's coming."

"Really?" Yui asked happily.

"Mhm," Michael nodded.

"He's here!" Yui cheered happily.

Michael pulled up his menu, hacking into the game instantly.

"I'm sending you to him," Michael stated. "Tell him to head for the World Tree."

Yui nodded and Michael sent her, Yui disappearing in a flash of light like when someone in SAO teleported. A moment later, Yui appeared on Kirito's shoulder.

"Hi Daddy!" Yui shouted hugging the side of his head.

"Yui!" Kirito gasped smiling before Yui flew off his shoulder and returned to her full size form, jumping into his arms.

After a moment, she pulled back and explained about the specifics of the game and how to fly using his controller then about where Asuna was. Just as she finished, she alerted him to players above them. They looked up through the trees that Kirito had glitched into landing in and saw a pair of Sylphs flying away from a group of three Salamanders. After a moment, they got caught and began to fight. Kirito flew to help them just as one Sylph died and the other was smashed into the trees. The Salamanders followed her and Kirito attempted to follow them, instead crashing down in a tree, stopping them just before they could fight again.

"Ow," Kirito groaned. "That hurt."

"Who are you?" one Salamander demanded.

"You know, three guys attacking one girl isn't very cool," Kirito stated drawing his sword. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Go for it," the girl invited.

Instantly, Kirito was on the opposite side of the players, one of them suddenly having in-game blood splatter out of him before turning into a Remain Light. He spin, attacking another player and splitting him in half. Then, he turned on the last one, the leader, Kirito assumed and grinned.

"How about you?" Kirito asked.

"I'll pass," the Salamander snorted. "My magic skill is about to reach nine hundred and I'd rather not die here."

"Suit yourself," Kirito grinned as the leader flew away. "You okay?"

"Um...yeah, thanks," the girl said. "Who are you?"

"Kirito," Kirito greeted. "You?"

"Leafa," she said. "So, what are you...doing in Sylph territory?"

"There was a glitch," Kirito stated. "I honestly don't know."

Leafa nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Kirito said, noticing she was about to fly but didn't have her controller. "Can you teach me to fly without my controller? I have to get to the World Tree but would like to have my other hand free to fight."

"Sure," Leafa nodded. "You been to town yet?"

Kirito shook his head.

"I'll take you to the nearest one," Leafa said. "It's a Sylph city so you might be attacked but if you're with me you should be safe."

Kirito nodded and Leafa quickly explained how to fly. Once he had gotten the hang of it, she led him to the nearest city where he bought a black coat similar to the one he had had at the end of SAO, and a greatsword that was bigger than him and almost completely black. Once he had that, she agreed to show him how to get to the World Tree and the two headed out. After a few hours of travel, they finally reached the entrance to a cave system that Leafa said was the only way through the mountains. They headed inside but after a moment, they stopped and Leafa hid them with a shielding spell when Yui reported something following them. After a moment, a bat found them and Leafa broke her cover to blast the bat before they started to run, able to see thanks to Kirito's night vision spell. As they ran, they heard armor clanking behind them but didn't look back. They knew it was Salamanders. Finally they reached a bridge and ran across it, stopping when a large earth magic wall rose on the other end. Kirito tried to smash through it but to no avail.

* * *

Michael stopped at the entrance to the caves when a wall of flames rose in front of him. He turned around just as a pair of Salamanders dressed in heavy armor with greatswords stepped out.

"Oh, God no," Michael groaned.

"Yep," one of them spoke. "I found you."

Michael groaned again but drew his knives. Both charged and he blocked both swords with his knives then shoved the blades up, spinning and slashing them both. Just as he did, the lieutenant he had fought before, drew his katana and slashed at Michael. Michael blocked it, diverting the blade into the other player then slashed the lieutenant's throat. The lieutenant had managed to mostly avoid it, resulting in only a scratch, then caught his greatsword, slashing down at Michael. Michael avoided it, stabbing the other player in the face as the player struggled to pull the katana out. Then, Michael lunged at the lieutenant. the lieutenant fended off his attacks for a moment then stabbed at Michael. Michael slashed the sword aside and began to tear into the lieutenant. After a moment, he finished him and put his knives away, the flame wall dying down.

"Speed is a wonderful thing," Michael stated. "I didn't use my knives last time because I dislike them. Unfortunately, I'm on a tight schedule this time."

With that, he sprinted into the tunnel, pulling out a torch and lighting it so he could see. After a few minutes, he reached the city and tossed his torch into the water, entering the city. After roughly a minute of walking through it, he found Kirito at a store buying food.

"Look who's here," Michael grinned. "You look just like SAO, except the hair."

"You're one to talk," Kirito smirked. "Blonde? Really?"

"I'm just lucky it isn't neon green," Michael stated. "I hate green."

"Then why be Sylph?" Kirito asked as he started walking.

"Speed," Michael stated. "Sylph is fastest."

"I see," Kirito nodded. "Makes sense. So anyway, we're going to have a girl with us. She was guiding me and also wants to go to the tree."

"That's f-" he was cut off by leafa standing as she came back online from taking a break and speaking urgently.

"We need to hurry," Leafa stated before spotting Michael. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Kirito asked.

"You were guiding him?" Michael grinned.

Leafa looked back and forth between the two before something in her head clicked.

"This is the friend you were talking about being better than you isn't it?" Leafa asked.

"Did I lie?" Michael asked.

"I don't know," Leafa stated. "All I've seen him fight is weakling Salamanders. Oh shit! We're wasting time. I have to go. I don't have time to explain. I'm sorry Kirito."

Kirito and Michael exchanged knowing looks and then grinned at her.

"Guess you'll have to explain on the way then," Kirito stated.

"It'll take us a while to get out since we can't fly," Michael stated. "That should be enough time."

Leafa stared at them before smiling and nodding. Just as she did, Michael knelt down in front of her.

"We're faster," Michael stated. "At least on the ground. You might wanna get on and hold on tight. Which way we going?"

"World Tree side," Leafa stated blushing slightly but climbing on.

"Follow me Kirito," Michael stated but stopped.

"You have a way to see in the dark?" Michael asked. "I'm out of torches."

"Hold on," Kirito sighed using his night vision spell on all three of them. "There. Now let's go."

Michael turned toward the gate and the two took off, a massive cloud of dust and debris being kicked up by it along with a trail following them.

"So what's the situation?" Michael shouted over Leafa's screams.

"Sigurd betrayed the commander of the Sylphs and the commander of the Catsy to the Salamanders," Leafa explained, speaking loudly over the wind from their running speed. "The Sylphs and Catsies are going to sign a peace treaty to assault the World Tree together. If the Salamander killed them, the treaty's ruined, especially if it's let slip that it was a Sylph spy's fault."

"I agree," Kirito nodded. "That would be bad."

"It sounds like they'll be sending someone strong to stop the peace talks," Michael stated. "Maybe a few. Maybe General Eugene."

"You know about Eugene?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah," Michael snorted. "You could say that."

Leafa asked what he meant but he just laughed seconds before they reached the exit and leapt off the cliff, all three spreading their wings and taking flight.

"Lead the way Leafa," Michael invited. "As fast as you can."

Leafa nodded and they all sped off, shooting through the air rapidly. Michael watched the terrain shoot past below them before looking up, seeing a cliff with a table, fourteen players seated around it. They had beaten the Salamanders, it seemed, but it couldn't have been by much.

They all landed on the cliff, Michael and Kirito drawing their weapons, making everyone assembled jump up and the six guards of each commander draw their swords.

"Relax," Michael snorted. "We're not here to fight you. You're about to have a lot of guests. And they're all red with anger."

"Salamanders?" the person Michael assumed was the Sylph commander, an older woman looking to be in her twenties, maybe thirties with enormous breasts, gasped. "But how?"

"Sigurd," Leafa stated. "He's a traitor."

"I see," the woman nodded. "So you're here to...what? Defend us?"

"Pretty much," Michael nodded. "Especially if we're right about who's with them."

"You know, if this is a trap, we could just run," the Catsy commander, a shorter girl who it was difficult to judge the age for due to the cat fur, ears, and tail.

She was petite at best but was wearing an outfit that exposed her panties where as the Sylph Commander was exposing a record-breaking amount of cleavage, making it hard to judge who was dressed as the bigger slut. Michel could only grin at how much Klein would love to be there.

"No," the Sylph leader said. "We both need this treaty. We'll just have to trust these two, though I don't know what two players can do against that."

She pointed and they all looked, seeing well over sixty Salamanders appearing in the distance. They would arrive within a couple minutes.

"You'd be surprised what Michael can do," Leafa stated. "Apparently, the Spriggan is better."

The Salamanders all stopped in front of the cliff and Michael groaned instantly, a single soldier flying forward, greatsword resting on his shoulder.

"Well well, together again," the lieutenant chuckled darkly. "We have to stop meeting like this."

"That would be nice," Michael grumbled. "What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Archon," the lieutenant smirked. "You're Michael right?"

"I am," Michael nodded.

"Is that right?" a familiar voice spoke up as the soldiers parted and an equally familiar player flew forward, his own sword in its sheath on his back. "Michael. Fancy seeing you again."

"Eugene," Michael groaned. "Terrific."

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Assassination Attempt

"So, what, pray tell, is a Spriggan doing here?" Eugene asked.

"I'm an ambassador for the Spriggan Undine alliance," Kirito lied, saying the first thing that came to his head. "I was sent to secure a trade deal with the Sylphs and the Catsy."

"An Ambassador?" Eugene snorted. "With that shitty gear? And no guards?"

"I wouldn't think you of all people would knock shitty gear," Michael grinned. "And as for guards, he definitely doesn't need them."

Eugene eyed Kirito for a moment before laughing and drawing his sword.

"Tell you what, you beat me, and I'll believe you are who you say you are," Eugene stated. "And my men won't interfere in the fight."

"Of course not," Michael grinned. "They're going to have their hands full with me, right Archon?"

"Absolutely," Archon grinned.

"You're too hasty Archon," Eugene stated. "Haven't you lost to him twice now?"

"This time will be different," Archon promised. "I have a special surprise for him this time."

"Well, your men will have to play first," Michael stated. "If they lose, you're up."

Kirito flew up with Eugene who readied himself and Michael grinned, shooting forward into the army of Salamanders. Archon allowed him to pass and Michael tore into the first soldier he met. Five attacked him and he flipped out of the way, slashing two before catching a lance under his arm. He spun, drawing one of his knives and stabbed the player, hurling the lance into another and stopping his charge. As Michael put the knife away, he blocked a swipe from another lance, slashing the player across the chest. Just as he burned away, another lance grew out of the flames, driving itself through Michael's abdomen. He growled in annoyance, pulling it out and flicking it like a whip, launching its owner then hurling it, hitting him in the face. He glanced at Kirito just as Kirito turned flying away.

* * *

Kirito growled in annoyance, quickly reciting a spell from his menu from memory. To his joy, when he held out his hand, a cloud of purple smoke exploded out of it, reaching out and blasting Eugene before the concussion from the spell shot out, spreading the smoke across the entire battlefield. Kirito flew to Leafa, taking her sword and dropping the scabbard beside her as he shot skyward, getting between Eugene and the sun. Eugene Slashed, the force clearing the smoke. Then, everyone began to look around for Kirito as Kirito flew at Eugene. Eugene finally turned toward him, slashing as Kirito neared him, sword passing through Kirito's. Then, just as the sword was about to hit Kirito, he twisted, deflecting the blade at the last possible second with Leafa's sword. Then, he flew forward, beginning to tear into Eugene, swords tearing into him right and left. Kirito was aware that Michael's fight had halted to watch but was too focused for that to mean anything.

Eugene screamed, a fire barrier forming and exploding when Kirito's sword hit it. Both combatants were thrown back but Eugene recovered first, flying back up through the ball of smoke, slashing at Kirito. Kirito avoided it, stabbing Eugene and flying downward. Eugene caught his head, forcing him back where he could slash him then raised the sword. Kirito slashed him with each sword, knocking Eugene's sword out of his hand then slashed one more time with Leafa's, splitting Eugene in half. Eugene shouted in pain, exploding into a ball of fire and flying away from Kirito who stopped himself, holding the swords at his side.

* * *

Michael grinned as Eugene exploded, then heard something whistling through the air. He spun, expecting a lance or sword but instead, a gigantic scythe slashed through his abdomen. He stared in shock at the wound then up at the scythe. It was the same as the reaper in the secret dungeon below the Town of Beginnings had used. Michael rocketed backward, crashing into the ground, unable to move.

"Like it?" Archon asked. "It's a unique scythe. It's called Thanatos. One strike and you won't be able to move for ten minutes. Unfortunately it's too big to use anywhere except in the air. But still. It's effective."

Sakuya recited a healing spell and a moment later, Michael stood, fully healed and able to move again.

"Damn," Archon sighed.

Michael eyed the last twenty Salamanders and then looked to Leafa.

"If I die, it's up to you and Kirito to kill him," Michael stated. "I doubt he'll stop, even if Eugene says too."

With that, Michael flew into the air, holding his sword ready as he waited for Archon to move. Archon laughed, then flew forward, scythe spinning like a helicopter blade in his right hand. He stopped when he was in range, swinging his arm around, the scythe saw blade following. Michael blocked the blade and the scythe sailed into the air. Rather than draw a new weapon, Archon caught the scythe, beginning to spin it around himself. He grabbed it with both hands after a moment, driving the spiked base of the the shaft at Michael rapidly. Michael dodged out of the way of each stab, blocking a few with his sword before slashing the shaft sideways and ducking under the blade as it flashed around at him. He flew forward and the scythe continued to spin, the shaft blasting Michael and launching him down past the cliff. He stopped himself, flying up at Archon as Archon hurled the spinning scythe at him. When Michael blocked it, it flew back into the air, still spinning, and Archon caught it, continuing to spin it like a professional bo staff fighter. Michael flew at him and Archon began to switch hands both in front of himself and behind, also passing it over and under himself, making it nearly impossible for Michael to track. Finally he got within range and the scythe shot toward him from the right. He blocked the base of the shaft and suddenly the blade was flying at him from the other side. He blocked that too and instantly bent forward, Archon spinning and whipping the shaft over him. Michael flew straight at Archon and Archon spun the scythe in front of himself.

Michael blocked the scythe then flipped, blocking it in the other direction before slashing at Archon. Less than a second before his sword reached him, the shaft of the scythe crashed into his stomach, spinning him around for a moment before Archon caught the scythe with his free hand, stopping it instantly and launching Michael down past the cliff again. Michael again stopped himself, glaring at Archon as both of their wings started to lose power.

"You're running out of time," Michael grinned. "And once you land...you can't use that massive scythe of yours."

He rocketed up at Archon again as he read off a spell. Purple smoke exploded out of his hand at Archon but Archon spun his staff, blowing the smoke away. When the smoke was gone, so was Michael. Archon began to turn. Just as he did, however, Michael crashed into his back, sword first. Archon shouted in pain, spinning and bashing Kirito into the table, destroying it just as their wings lost power and Archon landed on the cliff. The Salamanders landing around them, Eugene as well after Sakuya had revived him on Kirito's request.

Michael stood, health in red while Archon was still just above yellow. Leafa began to recite a healing spell but Michael stopped her, raising his sword. Archon laughed drawing his sword.

"Shall we finish this then?" Archon laughed. "And let this be the last time we fight."

"Deal," Michael nodded as they both sprinted forward.

Michael ducked under the greatsword, slashing at Archon but Archon equipped his katana, the buttcap blocking Michael's slash. Archon spun, slashing at Michael again and Michael blocked the blade again, this time seeing Archon's hands release the blade. Instantly, Michael shoved the blade upward, kicking the pommel and driving the greatsword through Archon's chest, making him stagger back and wrench the sword out, health already in low yellow. Archon swore and drew his katana, holding it over his head in a kendo stance. Michael, lightheaded as the game was making him from low health, simply held his own at his side. When Archon stepped forward, Michael blocked the blade, feeling Archon's foot connect with his kneecap and then feeling his entire body flare in excruciating pain. Even with the pain dampener blocked to the point where a sword slash barely felt like anything, he could feel nothing but the pain. There was no doubt his knee was broken.

His vision returned as the pain faded. He was a Remain Light. Archon had been merciful enough to end his pain quickly. Now, however, Archon was struggling to fight Kirito. Within a minute, Kirito removed his head. Then, Sakuya revived Michael who flexed and bent his knee gingerly, phantom pains still there but his knee was fine. Michael turned toward the other Salamanders and Eugene huffed.

"Well, I suppose we had a deal," Eugene stated. "I have no desire to start a war with the Spriggans and the Undines. We'll pull out. Good luck with whatever it is you do."

"You too," Kirito nodded.

Eugene snorted in amusement then turned and all of the surviving Salamanders flew away as Archon's Remain Light faded.

"So, Sigurd?" Sakuya mused turning to the Catsy leader. "Can you open a Moonlight Mirror for me?"

"Absolutely," the Catsy nodded reciting a spell as a dome of darkness formed over them and a mirror in the center, in front of Sakuya.

"Sigurd," Sakuya spoke as Sigurd appeared in it, lounging behind a desk sipping at wine, which he instantly dropped in his rush to stand.

"AH!" Sigurd gasped, dropping his wine. "S-Sakuya!"

"Nice to see you too," Sakuya stated. "Unfortunately I'm still alive."

"How...I mean...what, happened at the meeting?" Sigurd asked.

"It went very well," Sakuya stated. "There's still the matter of signing the treaty, though. By the way, we had an unexpected guest."

"What guest?" Sigurd asked, trying not to sound as scared as he did.

"His name is General Eugene, and he sends his regards," Sakuya stated.

Sigurd's jaw dropped and he looked past Sakuya, seeing Leafa, Kirito, and Michael all off to the side, Michael grinning from ear to ear and waving when Sigurd saw them.

"You," Sigurd snarled. "So that's it. Those incompetent lizards. Well, it's your move now Sakuya. Are you gonna fine me? Or maybe you wanna take away my command. If so, remember, without me running your military your rule won't last very long."

"He's the head of your military?" Michael scoffed. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."

Sakuya grinned but continued her conversation with Sigurd.

"Actually, I was thinking of granting the request you made them," Sakuya stated. "Since you can't stand being a Sylph, you're free to go."

"Wait, what!?" Sigurd gaped as Sakuya opened her menu and an alert opened in front of Sigurd, telling him that he was exiled. "Me? You're banishing me?"

"I'm letting you live to wander the neutral territory as a Renegade," Sakuya stated. "With any luck, you'll find something there that will occupy your precious time."

Sigurd lunged at the mirror just as the Catsy leader let it fade. "You Bi-" Then, he was gone and the mirror and dome faded.

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Taking A Break

"So, what are you all going to do?" Sakuya asked.

"We're going up the world tree," Michael stated. "Someone we know is being held at the top, and we need to figure out why. We're going to save them."

"I see," Sakuya nodded. "We would love to help, but it will take us a while to outfit for an assault on the tree."

"Here, maybe this will help," Kirito suddenly held up a sack full of money and handed it to the Catsy Leader who was only barely able to hold it up, where Kirito was holding it with one hand like it was nothing.

"Holy shit, look at this Sakuya," the Catsy leader gasped.

"What is it?" Sakuya asked looking into the bag and gaping at it as the amount was displayed to her. "Oh my God! A hundred thousand pieces of mythral Yrd!?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to need it," Kirito stated.

"With this bag, we've got just about enough for new gear," the Catsy leader stated.

"We'll get ready as fast as we can," Sakuya promised. "When we're set to go we'll message you, okay?"

Michael nodded then grinned.

"With me and Kirito both going at the tree, it'll probably be cleared before you get there," Michael smirked. "See you girls around."

Both waved and the fourteen players all left, flying back to their own lands. Michael turned to the others and grinned.

"Shall we Kirito?" Michael grinned. "We should arrive at Arun just in time for the update. We can take a day off then log on later and go blow some guardians away."

Kirito nodded and the three of them spread their wings, taking off and flying away as fast as they could. When they landed, it was getting late. About a minute after they reached the town, the alert system announced the update. Yui directed them to cheap hotels since Kirito was flat broke and they all logged out. Michael did some rehab for a while then lay down and went to sleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was already late in the morning. He got up and left, heading over to Agil's bar and finding Klein was there.

"What's up Klein?" Michael asked grinning.

"Not much," Klein stated. "Day off from work today so I'm hanging out with Agil. How's the game?"

"Fun," Michael grinned. "Kirito thinks so too but he's focussed on getting to Asuna. Not that I can blame him. There is a down side, however."

"What's that?" Klein asked.

"There's this other player, Archon," Michael stated. "He's about as strong as me and I've fought him three times. Once I beat him in no time flat because I used a pair of knives rather than a sword. It was kind of cheating. Anyway, the first time I fought him it was a duel and he used their weird fighting style. id never seen anything like it. Anyway, the last time I fought him he won because he started with this gigantic scythe but he was way too fast with the thing for me to get him."

"The fighting style," Klein spoke up, interested. "What was it?"

"Well," Michael said thinking for a moment. "He kept releasing his swords. He would attack with one then let go and draw another and attack, then let go and draw another. He had three going for part of it but that was the most he had. Why?"

Klein and Agil exchanged a look Michael couldn't understand before Klein looked back at him.

"There was a player in SAO that had that same fighting style," Klein stated. "He was...he was a PKer. Not Laughing Coffin, though. In fact, he was so bad that Laughing Coffin actually worked with us to take him down."

"They..." Michael trailed off as that sunk in.

"It was actually only a bit before you showed up," Klein stated. "Laughing Coffin sent us a message telling us that there was a PKer on the loose who was, and I quote, "a very serious threat that should be dealt with immediately", which of course, worried absolutely no one. We all thought he was just a rogue Laughing Coffin. We decided to let them handle it in house for a bit. Then members of the clearing guilds began to go missing. At first, we thought maybe they were defecting, or going to scout dungeons. Then Laughing Coffin showed up. They threw their weapons to us before we could even draw ours. So we knew they seriously wanted to talk. One of the leaders explained to us that a lone player had showed up at their hideout, a different one than the one we took them out in, and when they attacked he just started slaughtering them. You how there were more than we expected when we fought them? Well, apparently that was a quarter of what they had been before this guy found them. We thought maybe he was a vigilante until they explained that they had tracked him after he just up and left, leaving what came to us alive. They had tracked him to one of the lower dungeons, well, lower than we were, and they said he had found a guild that was grinding for experience and just slaughtered them. He said that a group of Knights of the Blood Oath that had been on a day off happened across the guild at the end of the fight and they tried to help but they were no mach."

"Laughing Coffin said that he had been murdering all kinds of players, but especially Clearers," Agil stated. "So, the clearing guilds all agreed to help Laughing Coffin kill him if they could find him. And within a day, they messaged us here he would be. We all met up with Laughing Coffin and they said that he was inside a dungeon on that floor. We went there and headed through it to the boss room where he was waiting, sitting in the center with three swords around him. Laughing Coffin went in first, as we had agreed. And he tore them apart. By the time we realized we needed to help, he had successfully slaughtered almost half of Laughing Coffin. The Aincrad Army, what was left of the clearing portion, got there first. That was a mistake. They were the weakest clearers so they didn't even last as long as Laughing Coffin."

"My guild was next," Klein stated. "We lost three the moment he reached us. Then we held our own until the Knights of the Blood Oath arrived and Heathcliff charged in. That was the one time we saw Heathcliff...or, I guess Kayaba...truly pissed off. I guess he didn't like someone trying to end his game the wrong way. Anyway, he was able to easily hold the guy off, not very surprising now, but back then it was impressive. After a few minutes though, he let himself take a hit and dropped to borderline yellow, backing out of the fight to recover and the rest of the guild went in. Things went south fast. Kirito and Asuna both got dropped to red in seconds and the Knights of the Blood Oath became practice dummies. In the end, we never killed him. He teleported out, going to the floor we were trying to clear. We followed, since he had said where he was going, and we wound up chasing him all the way to the boss room. The doors closed and after about twenty minutes, they opened again and when we went in, the boss was still there so we teleported out. We had assumed he died but I guess he teleported out. We never did hear anything about him again and there were no more disappearances so we all assumed he had been killed by the boss."

"What was the body count?" Michael asked, not really wanting to know.

"Fifteen Aincrad Liberation Army," Klein began listing. "Three Fuurinkazan, we estimated eighty Laughing Coffin, and ten Knights of the Blood Oath. That monster killed one hundred eight players that we know of."

Michael was silent, the knowledge that he might know that monster was terrifying. But he'd have to find him again and then figure out if he was in SAO. That wouldn't be hard. SAO players usually admitted who they were the moment they found another one. And if Archon was from SAO, PKer or not, he'd admit it. He'd be proud that he survived. At least, outwardly. If Klein was right, he'd be even prouder of his body count.

"You okay?" Klein asked.

"No," Michael smirked. "I don't have the ability to kill this fucker if we're right."

"No," Klein agreed. "But with your specific skill set, you could easily locate him and send the police."

"True," Michael nodded. "I'll probably do that. For now, however, I'm going to help Kirito save Asuna."

He stood, glancing at the clock. It was roughly an hour before they could log back on and an hour and a half before Kirito and Leafa would be logging on. He went home, doing some rehab until it was time then logging on, finding Kirito and Leafa were already there.

"Sorry I'm late," Michael apologized.

"Not at all," Leafa said. "We just got here."

Michael nodded and looked to Kirito.

"I talked to Klein," Michael stated.

"Oh yeah?" Kirito asked. "What about?"

"A guy who fights by juggling three swords," Michael stated and Kirito tensed.

Kirito nodded, knowing exactly who he meant.

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "He...was incredible."

"He's in ALfheim Online," Michael stated. "Archon juggles three swords."

Kirito stared at him before nodding.

"We'll find him and sort it out," Kirito stated.

"But Asuna's first," Michael stated. "Come on. Between the two of us, there's no way we won't make it."

Kirito nodded and they all left, heading to the base of the tree and stopping. Kirito turned, smiling at Leafa apologetically.

"We're going to go it alone from here," Kirito stated. "Between the two of us, we'll clear the tree no problem."

Leafa opened her mouth to speak but had nothing to say, so she remained silent. Kirito opened his menu and sent an item to Michael.

"I think this may come in handy," Kirito grinned as Michael equipped the item and a tower shield appeared on his arm. The shield was about shoulder hight but light as a feather. It was also made out of a white metal. Michael looked at its states and his jaw dropped.

"Where did you get this?" Michael gaped.

"One of the monsters I killed dropped it," Kirito shrugged. "Think it'll come in handy?"

"Hell yeah," Michael grinned. "However, I now have to go save again. Back in a minute."

Then, he flew off.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. Oh, forgot to mention, Archon is an OC. Incase you didn't figure that out.

* * *

Success

Michael stepped up beside Kirito, grinning at him as they looked up at the door above them.

"Remember," Michael said as they extended their wings. "One guardian comes out. When he dies, every circle releases one. After three minutes, archers come out."

Kirito nodded and they rocketed upward. A guardian formed and moved to intercept them and Michael met it head on, bisecting it easily. Just as Kirito neared the door, a sword wielder stepped out of each circle and flew at them. Kirito was forced to stop when a guardian slashed at him from behind. Kirito blocked it, shoving the sword aside and killing him just as Michael caught up, slashing three guardians who had been about to attack Kirito from behind. Kirito thanked him and they held their weapons ready as the guardians surrounded them in a sphere.

"This doesn't look good," Michael growled.

"Nope," Kirito agreed. "Think you can get me to the door?"

"Easy," Michael nodded just as guardians began to fly at them rapidly.

Michael deflected two into two others using his shield and slashed three as they passed. Kirito was doing nearly as well, blocking blades and slashing the wielders as soon as he could. Michael flew up to Kirito, who had drifted away from him, and blocked a sword, slashing the wielder then flying at the sphere, slashing multiple instantly and most of the guardians followed, seeing him as the greater threat due to him going on the offensive. Kirito slashed his way through what was left, breaking out of the sphere quickly and flying at the door. Just as he reached for it, a glowing yellow arrow drove itself through his hand. He stopped, looking back to see hundreds of archers below him, all aiming at him.

"Archers!" Kirito shouted.

Michael spun, slashing a ring around himself then flew up, smashing a guardian aside with his shield and flew to Kirito, arriving and turning around just as the archers all fired. He raised his shield, curling into a ball behind it as arrows began to shatter against it. Finally, it stopped and Michael straightened, moving the shield out of the way and grinning. Then, he flew downward, half of the archers following him, allowing Kirito enough room to hopefully avoid the arrows. Arrows began to rain down around Michael, making him swerve and dodge as they did. He spun, blocking them with his shield and then curved up into the air again, seeing Kirito getting shot rapidly. Michael swore, reading off a spell and blasting several archers as he rushed to aid Kirito. He reached him just in time to slash several swords out of the air as they flew at him. Again Kirito stopped, guardians surrounding them.

"This might be a bit of a problem," Michael stated. "I can handle the archers but you can't. Get to the door. I'll handle these."

Kirito nodded and flew upward, slashing several guardians out of his way. Michael followed, drawing as much attention as he could to buy Kirito time. Then, just as Kirito's hand came within an inch of the door, the plan went south. A wall of guardians formed between Kirito and the door, forcing him to back away. Before Michael could react, the guardians formed bows and arrows and all fired, killing Kirito instantly. Michael swore but before he could go after Kirito's Remain Light, the Archers turned on him. He raised his shield, blocking the arrows just before Leafa flew past.

The guardians turned on her but Michael flew to them, slashing as many as he could reach, drawing their attention and receiving a dozen arrows, dropping his health rapidly.

"Damn," Michael growled. "Get Kirito out of here! I'll cover you."

She nodded, flying straight toward the exit with Michael just behind her. When the arrows began to rain down around them, Michael flipped over, raising his shield and blocking them. Swords began to spark against the shield as well just before Michael curved up and Leafa exited the tree. Then, he arched around, shooting toward the door. Guardians flew toward him but he deflected them either with his shield or his sword, killing any he could without slowing. He broke through the outer line of guardians and reached for the door just as one arrived in front of him, slashing. He dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding being bisected then killed it just in time for six to stab him all at once from different sides. They all flew back and Michael watched his health drop.

"Sorry Asuna," Michael sighed. "We failed after all."

Then, he was also a Remain Light. He looked down, seeing the guardians very slowly returning to their circles as a timer counted down. Michael watched the door, wondering whether Leafa or Kirito would be saving him. After a moment of nothing happening, the timer hit zero and he woke up in the inn. He flew to the base of the tree again, arriving at the same time as Leafa and Kirito returned.

"So you got killed too huh?" Kirito asked. "Sorry."

"Yeah," Michael shrugged. "It's alright. Where were you guys?"

"We were...taking care of some stuff," Kirito stated. "Turns out Leafa is actually my little sister."

Michael glanced back and forth at the two then grinned. After a moment, he was laughing.

"What?" Leafa asked, blushing slightly.

"What are the chances?" Michael laughed. "Come on. I assume you're going to help us this time around."

Leafa nodded just as Recon landed beside them.

"I'm coming too," Recon stated. "I can help."

Michael nodded and looked at the tree. Then, up at the cage.

"Alright, so, ten minutes max to make it up the tree," Michael mused. "Aught to be fun."

Kirito shook his head, smirking.

"Just focus on healing me and Michael," Kirito requested. "We'll handle the hard part. Really only one of us needs to make it through."

Leafa and Recon nodded and the four of them headed through the door, instantly taking off. One guardian formed, Michael blasting it the moment it did. The circles all glowed and guardians began to form and charge at them in several waves.

"Here we go," Michael growled.

"You know, I just thought," Kirito spoke up. "If you left that one alive, I might be able to get through the door."

"Oh yeah," Michael said. I never thought of that."

He and Kirito separated from Leafa and Recon, carving their way through the guardians again. After a moment, Kirito was assaulted by a swarm and began to fall, health critical. Leafa and Recon healed him and a moment later, a dozen guardians were flying at them.

"Oh that figures," Michael growled, intercepting the guardians and destroying them. "Looks like they'll target you too."

"Then we'll help," Recon stated flying into the air and using a spell that allowed him to send arch blades of wind out of his fist, allowing him to destroy numerous guardians with ease.

"Recon that's enough!" Leafa shouted. "Just get outside!"

Just then, two appeared over her. As they did, Recon spun, destroying both with his wind blades before letting the spell end and beginning another as he flew up into the swarm.

"Recon no!" Leafa shouted.

Michael began to fly to Recon to stop him but before he could, an explosion went off out of Recon's hands, incinerating him before clearing a gaping hole in the guardian cloud above them. Kirito and Michael both flew toward it, slashing any guardians that got in their way. Then, a tidal wave of guardians crashed into Kirito, blasting him away from the hole and several swords stabbing him, dropping his health to critical again. Just as they did, Michael raised his shield, a second swarm crashing into it, blasting him into the ground and continuing to pound against the shield as he held them back as best he could. Finally, he pushed up and launched the next guardian into the swarm halting it just long enough to get out of the way, flying to Leafa as she healed Kirito. Two guardians arrived, slashing at her but Michael blocked one sword with his shield and slashed the other guardian.

"Thanks," Leafa sighed just as dozens of voices began to shout below them.

They looked down to see dozens of Sylphs flying in followed by an equal number of catsy, all riding dragons. Michael blinked in surprise, then grinned.

"Hello there," Sakuya spoke up flying over. "I hope we're not late."

"Yeah sorry," the Catsy leader, Alicia, said. "It took us a while to get ready but we're here now."

"Nice to see you," Michael grinned. "Care to thin the crowd a little?"

Alicia grinned and flew up to the rest of the Catsy ordering them to attack. All of the dragons instantly launched a stream of fire, obliterating a massive portion of the present guardians. Then, the Sylphs all fired beams of energy out of the tips of their swords, blasting a massive portion of what was left. Then, just as the troops all rushed to fight, archers began to appear. This time, however, they were ready. The Catsy all fired at them, blasting all of the archers at once. Sword-wielders began to fill in the gaps again, flooding down at them as they did but with the number of people they had, everyone was able to have someone watching their back. Michael was lucky enough that he was the only person fighting alone, just the way he liked it. While everyone else was fighting down below the cloud, down where the enemies had to go to them, Michael flew up to the cloud, rolling out of the way of the initial surge that tried to reach him. Then, he shoved his sword into the stream of enemies, destroying countless as he flew up to the cloud. He slashed his sword over his head, clearing a littler room then smashed his shield into the guardian over him, forcing the rest away. He stopped level with the cloud, slashing anything and everything that came at him while using the shield to keep himself alive. After several minutes, his shield shattered and he sword, putting his sword away, drawing his knives in time to block a slash and kill the guardian wielding it. Then, he saw that the Catsy were preparing to attack at a pinpoint strike, exactly where he was.

"Michael move!" Leafa shouted at the last second.

Michael cursed and flew out of the way, dozens of streams of flame and energy beams hitting where he had been and exploding, blasting a gaping hole in the cloud. Kirito flew at it, a guardian hot on his heels. Michael hurled a knife into the guardian's face then drew his sword, holding it out to Kirito as they passed. Kirito took it, grinning as he flew up at the guardians. Michael reached the one he had thrown his knife into and grabbed the knife, dragging it down out of the guardian and killing it. Then, he stopped as Kirito put the two swords together, multi-colored energy flying off of the tip of the swords and allowing him to blast through the guardians, obliterating any that tried to fight him.

"The heck kind of attack is that!?" Michael demanded.

After a moment, Kirito broke out of the cloud. Just as it was closing, Michael's sword fell through it, killing a guardian as it did. Michael rolled his eyes and caught the sword after putting his knives away. Then, the hole was closed and they were cut off.

"Dang," Michael sighed. "Wonder if I could still get through."

"We're pulling out!" Sakuya announced. "Everyone, fall back!"

Michael waved as they all passed and Leafa stopped.

"What about you?" Leafa asked.

"I'm going to keep them from noticing Kirito," Michael stated. "God only knows if he's safe just because he's on the ceiling. For now, I'm going to continue to fight. Besides, if I die, I get my shield back."

He flew upward, slashing at a guardian who was rushing to stop them and Leafa turned and left the tree. After a moment, the entire cloud of guardians descended.

"Oh that's just lovely," Michael groaned. "Well, guess I get my shield back after all."

He sighed and flew up at the guardians, slashing all of five before the entire cloud drove their swords through him.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Identity

Michael walked out of the inn as Leafa was about to enter it. He patted his shield and smiled as Leafa simply shook her head and smiled.

"Did he make it?" Leafa asked.

"I honestly don't know," Michael admitted. "About a minute after you left, the entire army came after me so I think so."

Leafa nodded and they headed back up to the tree, arriving just in time to meet Sakuya and Alicia.

"Hey guys," Alicia greeted. "What's up?"

"Just got done dying," Michael stated. "Wanted my shield back but didn't want to go down without a fight."

Alicia laughed then looked up at the tree.

"He'll be fine," Michael stated. "Come on. There's someone I have to find before Kirito does something stupid and gets the game shut down."

Leafa laughed and the four of them left the city. They didn't have far to go, however. Archon was standing just outside the gate.

"Hey Archon," Michael said raising a hand then drawing his sword. "Look at that. We're here again."

"So it would seem," Archon nodded, resting his greatsword on the ground in front of himself.

"So tell me," Michael said before they began. "What level were you in SAO?"

"You were in...SAO?" Archon breathed. "That explains your strength."

"And yours," Michael stated. "Murderer."

Archon was silent for a moment then equipped his scythe, flying into the air. Michael flew at him, shield blocking the slash that he knew was coming from the scythe. He rolled past the shaft of the scythe, shield slamming into the blade again, knocking it away. Michael used his sword to block the shaft of the scythe then slashed at Archon. Archon blocked the sword with the shaft then spun, slashing at Michael again. Michael blocked the blade with the shield again and was launched into the ground. He stood, growling in frustration and standing. Archon laughed and Michael put his sword and shield away, drawing his knives. Then, he flew at Archon again. Archon began to slash at Michael rapidly, much faster than before but try as he might, he was unable to harm Michael. Finally, Michael reached hi, gripping the scythe and kicking Archon, blasting him into the ground, keeping Thanatos. Then, he spun, hurling Thanatos and sending it spinning through the air away from them all, the scythe disappearing in the distance.

Archon growled in annoyance as Michael landed across from him and looked back at Leafa.

"Heal us both," he instructed. "It's more fun that way."

Leafa hesitated but Sakuya complied, healing them both to full health.

"Alright Archon," Michael growled. "After this, please, for the love of God, stay away from me."

"I'm afraid I'll be paying you a visit in the real world," Archon stated. "Can't have you running your mouth to everyone now can we? But first, we'll settle things. One last time."

Archon sprinted forward, Grabbing his greatsword and slashed at Michael. Michael blocked it with his shield, launching the sword away but just as Archon reached for his katana, Michael's shield crashed into Archon's throat, crushing it. Archon staggered back, coughing hard. As he looked up at Michael, Michael split his head. Then, he pulled up a system file and began to use his unique skills. Within minutes he had Archon's exact name and address. And then, he logged out.

Michael sat up, dialing his contact from the government who had first told him to join SAO. Within minutes he had explained what was going on and given the name and address and the contact hung up to send some police. Michael didn't log back on yet. He waited. The address had only been a few minutes run from his own house. So he fully expected a visitor. Sure enough, after exactly five minutes, the door crashed inward and a man in his lat thirties with a muscular build a thick mustache, and a very angry expression strolled in, aluminum bat at his side.

"Archon, I take it," Michael smirked. "What kept you?"

Archon narrowed his eyes, raising the bat. Michael leaned back against the desk, grinning at Archon.

"It's a shame you didn't stay," Michael stated. "Prison would have suited you just as well."

He pulled a pistol out from under his desk but before he could fire, Archon's bat connected with the side of the gun, knocking it away. A moment later, Michael's feet connected with Archon's chest, sending him reeling into the door frame. Michael grabbed his pistol and spun as Archon tackled him, trying to wrestle the gun away. After a moment, Archon's knee connected with Michael's groin and he took the gun. Michael grabbed it, yanking the slide to the rear and forcing a double feed. Archon shouted in annoyance, hurling the gun sideways then began to attempt to beat Michael about the face with his fists. Michael was able to block three before one connected with the side of his nose. He managed to roll Archon over, shouting in pain before slamming his elbow into Archon's twice. Then, he dragged himself to the pistol and rolled over, dropping the magazine and removing one of the two bullets, chambering the other. Archon leapt at him and Michael squeezed the round off. Blood splattered across the ceiling. Archon landed on top of Michael and Michael grunted in pain, slipping the other bullet into the weapon and sending the slide forward again. Then, he pushed Archon off, looking at the wound. His shot, by random chance, had punched through the man's left lung, probably only barely missing his heart. But Archon had been left unconscious. Michael emptied the pistol, dropping it where Archon wouldn't be able to reach it if he tried then slid away from the man.

A few minutes later, the police ran in, one of them calling for an ambulance and going to check on Archon as the others put Michael in cuffs for everyone's safety, mostly because it was their job. After a few minutes, it was decided that he had been defending himself and they took the cuffs off of him and had a paramedic reset his broken nose. Then, he gave his story of what had happened to the police and they went on their way. Looked at the clock. Midnight. He sighed, lying down and going to sleep. He'd wait and see what happened in the morning. After all. It was Kirito that was handling it after all. Everything would be fine.

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	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Rematch

Michael sat at the bar and Agil passed him a drink. He sipped at it, staring at Agil's computer. When Kirito hadbsaved Asuna, killing ALfheim Online's game master in the process, whatever was left of Kayaba had given him something called the seed, which Kirito had entrusted to Agil. Agil had analyzed it and discovered that it was a program package that would allow anyone to create their own virtual world. Kirito had had Agil upload it, and within a week, dozens of VRMMOs were running, and ALfheim Online, which had been about to be shut down, was saved.

It had been roughly two months since the incident in ALfheim Online. They all still played, including Agil and Klein now, and Alfheim had gained an update that granted it skills and abilities like SAO had had. Michael, however, was more excited about another game that was gaining popularity. Gun Gale Online. It was an American game, an if Michael knew his home country like he thought he did, the name was exceptionally fitting.

"So how you been Michael?" Agil asked.

"Not bad," Michael shrugged. "You hear about Archon?"

"Yeah," Agil nodded. "Insanity. True enough but still."

Michael nodded. Archon had been transferred to a mental institution where he would have full access to an amusphere as a meathod of keeping him from harming anyone in the real world. Michael had run into Archon in ALfheim Online only once since and Archon had proceeded to attack Michael furiously. And had died doing it.

"So, you try any other games yet?" Michael asked.

"No," Agil said. "But I hear GGO is pretty popular."

"Same," Michael nodded. "I'm gonna play it soon, I think."

"If I know you, you're going to be delayed," Agil chuckled. "That place arrives at 11 tonight."

"For real?" Mjchael blinked.

"For real," Agil nodded. "Yggdrasil City."

"I'll be there," Michael grinned. "Now, can I borrow your laptop? I wanna make a copy of my character stats to transfer to GGO when i play it."

"Sure," Agil nodded passing him the computer. "Suppose you can get my ALfheim character to finally accept my SAO stats?"

"Sure," Michael chuckled, performing both tasks in minutes and giving the computer back just as Kirito and Asuna arrived with Leafa, or rather Suguha, just behind them.

Lizbeth passed out drinks and the party got started. Before too long though, Michael got a message. He opened it and saw it was through his ALfheim character and was from Eugene. After the events at the meeting, Eugene had actually gotten in touch with Michael and the two had gotten ito a kind of odd friendshjp. This message said that Eugene wanted to talk to Michael. Michael sighed and closed his phone, saying his goodbyes then left heading home and logging on, quickly flying to the usual meeting point where he and Eugene talked, and often where they left for any missions they wo4ked on together. Doing that was what had allowed Michael to get the green light armor chest plate he now wore below his coat. The armor increased his speed exponentially and his defense a good deal.

"So, what is it this time Eugene?" Michael asked.

"I wanted to talk about the surprise coming tonight," Eugene stated. "Since there's going to need to be a clearing guild, like there was in the original, I figured the strongest player should head it up. Unfortunately, Kirito turned the offer down. So that leaves you and me."

"All yours," Michael snorted. "I'm going to be splitting my time between this and Gun Gale Online. You lead the guild."

"Alright," Eugene nodded. "Then in that case, you're going to be second in command."

Michael couldn't help but laugh. He nodded the looked up at the sun.

"You know, I've been thinking lately," Michael grinned. "We haven't tested ourselves against each other for a while. And I want to test out my new armor."

Eugene laughed and drew Gram. Michael crouched, drawing his own sword, which he had never botherex fo replace, though Lizbeth had offered to make him a new one. Eugene took a step forward, sword glowing red. Michael laughed, leaping into the air over the first slash and spinning, his own sword blocking the second and instantly lighting up a bright blue. He flipped over Eugene and slashed at his bqck. Eugene spun, blocking the attack with the next step of his ability and a massive wall of ice spikes exploded off of Michael's blade, launching Eugene away, his health in yellow. Eugene stood, sprinting forward, not bothering with an ability. Michael ducked under the blade, rememberi g it's ability all too well. As he stood, he slahed at Eugene and Eugene blocked it, shovi g the blade away and alsashing at Michael. Michael managed to avoid being bisected but the gash still dropped his health to yellow.

"You've gotten a lot stronger," Michael noted. "New item?"

Eugene tapped his headband and it glowed red for a moment before the light faded. Michael nodded and sprinted forward, sword glowing green. Eugene met Michael's charge and slashed at him. Michael spun out of the way and slashed at Eugene. Eugene swept the sword aside then slashed at Michael again. Michael spun out of the way, slashing at Eugene's waist as he did. Eugene avoided is and Michael flipped backward as Gram crashed into the ground where he had been. Then, Michael sprinted forward again, slashing at Eugene again.

Eugene was a bit too slow this time and the sword slashed a small line into his armor but his health began to drain, refilling Michael's part way, leaving Eugene red and Michael green. Michael turned to him, sword glowing black and grinned.

"Oh not that one," Eugene groaned.

Michael stabbed the ground ans a wormhe appeared below them, flattening Eugene against the ground.

"I love gravity magic," Michael grinned.

Eugene began to push himself up, moving slowly, and Michael began forward, swapping his sword for his knives. Eugene stabbed the ground, the wormhole fading and then slashed at Michael. Michael barely avoided it and Eugene spun, slaahing again. Michael backed out of range then darted forward. At the last second, Eugene shouted, a fire barrier defending him, as he had done against Kirito. Eugene sprinted out of the smoke as Michael stood and both grinned. Michael hurled a knife just as Eugene split him hlin half. The knife missed Eugene by a milimeter and Michael sighed as Eugene revived him. Michael healed Eugene then smirked.

"That was fun," Michael grinned. I'm going to head over to Yggdrasil City and save then log out. See you in Aincrad."

Eugene nodded and Michael left, reaching Yggdrasil City in minutes.


	22. Chapter 22

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

New Beginnings

Michael flew up and stopped beside Leafa and Kirito, the others flying past, all heading to the shining castle above them.

"Hey Kirito, wanna go clear floor one tonight?" Michael asked.

"I reset my stats," Kirito stated. "Wouldn't be fare if I stayed at level ninety eight."

"You'll be back to that strength soon," Michael grinned. "But in the mean time..."

He quickly hacked the system and changed it so that anyone who entered Aincrad had their combat stats back to the equivalent of level one. The entirety of ALfheim Online was on the way so it wluldn't take long to get it working. And the reset was a one time thing so it wouldn't effect players multiple times. Then, he flew forward, waving back at them as he left. A few minutes later, he was standing in an open field beside Eugene, who was giving him a dirty look since he could no longer use Gram. Michael rolled his eyes and removed the two-handed requirement for Gram and Eugene re-equipped the sword and grinned.

"Looks like you aren't strongest anymore," Michael grinned. "I designed new Aincrad myself. So the dificulty is exactly the same, at least up until floor sevety five. For the rest, I had Yui help me recreate Kayaba's original data, minus the death game part. So, about that guild."

"What do we call it?" Eugene asked.

"Knights of the blood oath," Michael stated. "Red and white themed armor that Lisbeth can make us, except me, and a tribute to Old Aincrad. Plus, it'll draw the old SAO players."

Eugene nodded, creating the guild and making Michael his second in command. Then, they left to start levelling up. Rather than trying to level in Aincrad, however, they left and headed to a dungeon they had been planning to clear. It had relatively weak monsters for ALfheim Online but for their new stats, it was quite challenging. After a few minutes, a very large group of newly reset players arrived, helping them fight and quickly clearing the dungeon, finding a sword at the end that Michael had slipped into the mot recen lt update for Kirito. An Elucidator. Michael grinned, taking it while Eugene added the players that were with them to their guild. Then, they headed back to Aincrad and Michael easily found Kirito, fighting wolves and boars. Michael was glad they were still able to fly. It made it very easy to catch Kirito.

"Hey Kirito, Leafa," Michael greeted. "I got a surprise for you Kirito."

Kirito raised an eyebrow and Michael pulled out the Elucidator, Kirito's jaw dropping as he saw the blade.

"You hacked the last update didn't you?" Kirito grinned.

"Maybe," Michael grinned. "If you don't want it though, maybe I'll keep it."

"You can," Kirito stated. "Lisbeth bought a shop. She's making me a new sword."

Kirito rolled his eyes and shrugged, equipping the Elucidator and dismantling his old sword using his own smithing skill and recieving a rare metal ore from it. He stared at the alert then grinned at Kirito.

"What?" Kirito asked.

"I'm going to see Lisbeth," Michael stated. "I think this Elucidator just became obsolete."

Kiriro looked at him in confusion but Michael had already flown away. He found Lisbeth's shop fairly easily and landed outside it, walking in and dropping the ore on her counter just as she finished Kirito's new sword, which looked a bit like his old Dark Repulcer. Lisbeth stared at the ore then at Michael and narrowed her eyes.

"I got it from dismantelling a sword, I swear," Michael said raising his hands. "I hacked for this though, well, hacked an update."

He turned so she could see his sword and she grinned.

"The materials in ALfheim Online make that sword inferior to other swords," Lisbeth stated. "However, that rare ore you got isn't enough to make a new weapon. It is enough to enhance that Elucidator though."

"Absolutely," Michael nodded, handing the sword over.

Lisbeth quickly upgraded the sword then handed him both weapons.

"Deliver this to Kirito for me will you?" Lisbeth asked. "Apparently I have armor to start making."

Michael nodded, laughing, and left, taking Kirito his sword. Then, he drew his own as a group of wolves came into view.

"I actually kind of missed Aincrad," Michael stated. "Not the death game, just the castle."

Kirito nodded his agreement and together they tore through the wolves. When they finished, Michael grinned at Kirito and Kirito gave him a knowing look.

"Really?" Kirito asked.

"Really," Michael nodded.

"Fine," Kirito sighed. "Let's go have some fun with Illfang the Kobold Lord."

Michael cheered and extended his wings, flying into the air, Kirito following. Asuna arrived beside them as they rose, Klein and Agil following.

"This is going to be fun," Michael grinned. "Everyone ready?"

"Hell yeah," Agil nodded looking over to Michael. "I thought you preferred shields."

"I guess I got used to using just a sword while playing ALfheim Online," Michael sheugged, equipping the shield. "I definitely am going to use it for this though."

They all flew to the dungeon, landing outside the door and pushing it open. Instantly, three man-sized green lizards leapt at them, all slashing. Michael blocked the blades with his shield and Agil, Kirito, and Klein each killed one. Michael grinned and they all began to form tag teams, leaving Michael alone. He didn't mind since he had a shield to cover his back. They made their way through the dungeon, fighting their way through hordes of lizard type monsters. Finally they reached the boss's door and they stopped to rest, Kirito checking the clock.

"I'll have to log out soon," Kirito reported and the others agreed. "So, Agil told me you were the one who created New Aincrad."

"Yeah I did," Michael nodded. "I created most of it from the original runtimes that I had Yui find for me so it should be almost the same thing as Old Aincrad. Naturally, that gives SAO survivors an edge, so I took the liberty of adding a few extras. Plus a few things that could have been fun before."

"Like what?" Kirito asked.

"Well, I had a hard time with the final hit bonuses so I got rid of the idea of getting a bonus item from finishing a boss," Michael stated. "Then I decided that that was a bit unfair so I added a new reward that goes along with there being magic now."

"What's that?" Asuna asked.

Just as she did, a swarm of lizard soldiers appeared, charging the tunnel from behind them. Everyone grabbed their weapons but Michael raised his hand, a screen appearing beside him and running code.

"Enter ID, Michael," Michael said. "System test. Codename: Gleameyes."

Everyone looked at him in confusion as a massive wall of light spread from his palm then formed into the Gleameyes, complete with it's massive sword. Kirito, Klein, and Asuna all drew their swords tensing and backing away slightly. Then, the Gleameyes sprinted forward, mowing down the lizards in massive numbers. Finally it finished and faded, roaring as it did. The screen of code faded and Michael turned back to the others.

"Monster summoning," Michael stated. "That's the new reward. You kill something and you gain the ability to summon it. The bosses obviously can only be killed once so one person only can summon them. You can trade monster summons between players if you want, and for the sake of fairness, any boss that is summoned is only summoned with a fraction of their original strength and health, that way you're not basically refighting a boss."

"And you can summon any?" Kirito asked.

"Only by hacking," Michael stated. "I needed to test out the ability to prove it would work so that it could be accepted by the people in charge of ALfheim Online. I also need someone to kill one."

"Summon Illfang," Kirito said drawing his new sword as Asuna drew her rapier.

Michael nodded, doing so and Illfang roared, already using the cleaver it used when near death. It leapt forward, slashing at Kirito. Kirito deflected the blade and Asuna leapt into the air, stabbing it. It staggered back and Kirito darted past, leaping past it, dragging his blade along it. It roared, swiping at him and missed, the blade instead only narrowly missing Asuna. She stepped forward, glowing rapier crashing into its stomach and blasting it back. Then, Kirito sprinted forward, slashing it again and killing it.

Michael grinned and nodded, sending the footage to the administrators and turned toward the door.

"That should make them happy," Michael said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "Let's do this."

"I'll handle the Kobold," Michael stated. "You guys take Illfang."

They nodded and they stepped into the room. The torches around the room blazed to life and Illfang roared, its three axe-wielding Kobold sprinting forward. Michael met their charge, shield crashing into an axe before Michael pushed the axe aside, slashing at the Kobold. It backed away, another sprinting forward and slashing at him. He spun, blocking it then blocked another with his sword. The third sprinted at him and he leapt into the air, the kobold passing under him. He landed behind it and spun, allowing the other two to go around him. As he did, he saw the others fighting Illfang much the same way Kirito and Asuna had the one Michael had summoned.

Michael spun, smashing an axe aside with his shield and slashed the Kobold, killing it. The second leapt at him and he blocked the blow, being forced to his knees. The second Kobold darted forward, axe blasting into Michael's side and launching him. He flipped, landing on his feet and stabbed his sword into the ground to stop himself. Just as he stopped, one of the two leapt at him again. He stepped around the blow, splitting the Kobold in half before darting forward, stabbing at the last one. It knocjed itnaside with its axe before swinging at him again. The axe crashed into his shield and Michael pivoted, passing the Kobold and slashing it across the back.

Then, he turned to the boss just as it switched to its cleaver, leaping around the room rapidly then at Asuna from the right. Michael stepped forward, blocking the cleaver but was launched across the room by the force. He landed hard and lay there a moment, regaining his senzes as he watched Kirito and Asuna return to tagteaming the boss. Both did it so well there was no chance of Illfang getting a strike through. Finally, he punched Asuna as she moved to strike him. Kirito sprinted forwarx with Klein and Agil, all three blasting Illfang with an ability. It staggered back a step then roared, slashing and launching both Klein and Agil aside. Both pushed themselves up as Kirito leapt over Illfang, sword splitting him open the entire way until it cleaved his head in two. Then, he landed behind Illfang and Illfang shattered.

"Wow, first day the level's cleared," Michael mused standing and walking over.

"That was...just like the old days," Kirito stated.

"You're not going to call yourself a cheater and abandon me this time are you?" Asuna joked.

"Maybe," Kirito shrugged as they reached the door to he next level and pushed it open.

Once on the new level, they flew to the nearest town and saved, logging out for the night.

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Rebirth

Michael stepped into the clearing and grinned. All around him, dozens of players were gathered with red and white armor. Lisbeth had offered him a set as well but he had turned her down in favor of his own armor, which he had grown attached to. Eugene was seated on a branch across from him and nodded a greeting as he arrived.

"Michael," Eugene spoke up. "Meet the new Knights of the Blood Oath. We were going to head over to the dungeon and see what we could see."

"Not yet," Michael stated. "You see, another guild was reborn as well. Our first mission is to wipe them out, even if only briefly. They'll be an annoyance soon if we let them live."

"Laughing Coffin?" Eugene guessed.

"Laughing Coffin," Michael stated. "They're definitely not the threat they used to be since they can't kill, but still. I've had enough of them already and they just started."

"We'll harrass them until they can no longer stand the thought of being in the guild," Eugene nodded. "Lead the way."

Michael nodded and turned, flying into the air, the others all following. They flew to the furthest corner from the dungeon where a swamp was situated. They found Laughing Coffin in the middle of a meeting and Michael grinned as they landed around the small murder guild. Among them, Michael recognized Archon and Sigurd. The others were people he had either never met or never cared to know.

"Of course you restarted Laughing Coffin, Archon," Michael growled, drawing his sword and shield.

"Someone had to do it and XaXa is currently unavailible," Archon sneered.

Michael sighed, raising his sword as Archon drew one of his three. Before either could attack, the two guilds charged, only Eugene, Sigurd, Michael, and Archon staying back. For a few minutes, they watched as the two guilds tore each other apart, both sides suffering heavy casualties. Then, Michael sprinted forward, Sigurd rushing to meet him. Michael smashed Sigurd's sword aside and bisected him then spun, blocking a Laughing Coffin Member's sword with his own. He slammed his shield into the player, throwing them away before lunging forward, slashing them across the chest and then using his shield to block Archon's katana.

"It's been a while Michael," Archon growled, allowing the katana to fall and drawing his greatsword, spinning around Michael and slashing at his back.

Michael blocked it with his own sword and glared at Archon. Archon grinned, trying to over power Michael.

"If I remember correctly, last time, you shot me," Archon snarled.

"To be fair, you were trying to kill me," Michael growled, shoving the greatsword sideways and slashing at Archon.

Archon laughed and spun, partially drawing his cleaver, blocking the slash with the first few inches of the blade. Michael kicked at him and Archon flipped backward over Michael, drawing the cleaver fully and slashing at Michael as he landed. Michael spun, shield blocking the cleaver just before Archon passed him. Michael spun, slashing at him but missing by an inch. Archon grabbed the katana and spun, the blade flashing around, falling less than an inch short of Michael's throat. Michael lunged forward, slashing at Archon, and Archon flipped the katana around to reverse grip, blocking Michael's attack. Just as he did, his left foot crashed down on the greatsword's pommel, flipping the sword over and making it slash at Michael.

Michael raised his shield, blocking the sword just as Archon spun, passing Michael yet again, katana raking across Michael's side as he did. Michael spun, shield smashing the cleaver sideways just before his Elucidator split Archon's front open, forcing himbto jump back. Both glared at each other. The battle around them had stopped in favor of watching the show. Archon grinned after a moment and began to cartwheel in a circle around Michael as he went. Michael turned, following him and Archon stopped at hia greatsword, resting one hand on its pommel as he rested the cleaver and katana on his left shoulder with the other.

"Isn't this fun Michael?" Archon asked grinning. "And to think, the tax payers are paying for me to harrass you like this."

And with that, the katana and cleaver both sailed into the air, followed by the greatsword. Michael swore, raising his shield in time for Archon's scythe to spark against it. Then, the scythe spun into the air in a blur and Archon caught his greatsword, lunging forward. He spun, slashing at Michael from the side with the greatsword using one hand, the other catching the katana. Michael blocked the greatsword with his shield and the greatsword spun skyward. Michael's sword blocked the katana and Michael spun, shield smashing into the cleaver's blade just as Archon caught it, making Archon spin and slash with the cleaver from behind as the katana spun skyward. Michael blocked the cleaver with his sword and Archon spun, catching the scythe and spinning. Michael ducked under the scythe and leapt out of range just as the scythe caught the cleaver, hurling it at Michael. Michael shouted in surprise, raising his shield only for the cleaver to blast theough the sield, destroying it and hurling Michael.

Michael landed on his feet, picking up the cleaver and hurling it away from the battle. He sprinted forward, using his sword to block the katana then ducking under the greatsword. The greatsword stuxk into the ground and the katana sailed into the air as Archon began to windmill the scythe. Michael swore and darted forward, getting uncomfortably close to Archon where the scythe couldn't hit him without also hitting Archon. Archon laughed, stabbing the blade of the scythe into theground then leaping back. Michael spun, raising the Elicidator and blocking the blade of the scythe as Archon pulled it after himself. Michael skidded backward several meters before flipping over the blade and kicking it at Archon. Archon spun, hurling the scythe into the air and sprang forward, grabbing the katana and slashing at Michael. Just as he did, Michael's blade glowed yellow and he slashed at Archon. Archon's blade turned black and he pivoted, sword crashing into Michael's.

Archon's sword shattered but Michael's sailed into the air and Archon stepped back, catching his scythe. Michael flipped backward, grabbing Archon's greatsword and stepping forward, slashing at Archon with it. Archon blocked the sword with the scythe, flicking it skyward and Michael spun and ducked as the shaft of the scythe flashed over him. Michael stood, catching his Elucidator and stabbing it into the ground, using it to flip over the scythe blade, which stopped when it hit the sword. While airborne, Michael caught the greatsword, turning its momentum into a sash and splitting Archon across the torso.

Archon staggered back, grinning wickedly as he did. Then, he tilted his head back cackling.

"Look at that," Archon laughed. "You learned something from me after all. Looks like you and me aren't so different from me after all huh Michael?"

Then, he was engulfed in red flames, becoming a remain light. Michael dropped the greatsword and retrieved his sword, glaring at Archon all the while.

"You and I are nothing alike," Michael spat just before Archon's remain light faded. "Who's next?"

The remaining Laughing Coffin members all instantly left the guild and fled. Michael sheathed his sword and turned to Eugene. Eugene smirked and nodded.

"And that is exactly why you are second in command," Eugene stated. "Now, wanna try that boss?"

"Fuck yeah," Michael grinned, picking up the scythe. "But first..."

He dismantled the scythe and greatsword then the cleaver, earning two plain metals, one black trench coat with skull pauldrons that looked a lot like Michael's last trench coat, and several pieces of ultra-rare metal. He equipped the cloak and then told Eugene he'd be back before flying to Lisbeth's shop with the metal.

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	24. Chapter 24

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Loaded

Michael sat on his bed, plugging his Nerve Gear in and smiling, sending a message to Eugene and Kirito telling them he was going to start playing Gun Gale Online. Then, he lay down and put the helmet on, logging in using his copied stats. Before he enterred the game, the game offered him a play history reward called an M9000 Avatar Type. Michael looked at the online talk about it and grimaced.

"A chick's body?" Michael snorted. "Fuck that."

He denied the award and instead used the same avatar model as ALfheim Online but with his actual hair color. Then, he entered the game.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a massive metal city with roads sweeping around, detatched from everything. Search lights shone skyward from somewhere in the distance and a thick cloud of smog hovered over it. All around him, players armed with all types of outfits and guns walked or ran. He saw he had an inventory alert and looked, seeing the M9000 was in the "Speacial" section. He closed out of his inventory and walked out into the street, looking around. Out of all of the lit signs around, he saw absolutely no gun shops or armories. He did see a bar though so he decided to go see what it had.

When he stepped into it, he stopped, eyes was a boxing ring set up with a glass case around it where players were shooting at each other, the winner getting money.

"Cool," Michael grinned. "I like this place already."

"I hope you're not thinking about playing that game without any armor or weapons," a voice off to his right spoke up.

Michael glanced down at his blue jeans and black Tee-shirt then over at the owner of the voice, a girl roughly his age with blue hair with two metal clips holding most of her bangs off to the sides, an open green, midriff jacket over a white armor that was a bif low on her chest, left the sides of her hips exposed, and connected to her belt. Her shorts her also a bit low and even as low as they were ended less than a quarter of the way down her thighs. She wore a pair of green pant legs that attached to the outside of her belt, black combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and a white scarf.

"Could you help me find a gun shop then?" Michael asked.

"Let me finish my drink," the girl said turning back to the bar, revealing that her shorts showed off a bit more in back than Michael had guessed.

She took her time finishing her drink then payed the bartender and stood, turning to him.

"Alright," she sighed. "Let's go."

He followed her out of the bar and down the road until they came to a large building with every wall inside, including the pillars, lined with all kinds of weapons from handguns, to revolvers, to pump action shot guns, fully automatic shotguns, single shot shotguns and rifles, bolt action rifles, burst fire rifles, semi automatic, fully automatic, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, grenades, mines, dinamite, C4, and dozens of sniper rifles of all kinds.

"This place is awesome!" Michael gaped.

He looked around before his eyes settled on a sniper rifle and he tensed, his amasement fading.

"Um, what types of weapons are there?" Michael asked.

"Classes wise, there are the standard live ammo type that are designed for player vs player," the girl stated. "Then there are Optical Rifles, laser type. They are slower than live ammo but are more acurate. However, there are energy shields players can buy that are relatively cheap that block half the damage from Optical Rifles for several shots."

"What about secondary weapons?" Michael asked.

"Well, there's pistols, obviously," the girl stated. "There's also auto pistols. Not a whole lot of options."

"What about blades?" Michael asked. "Knives or swords or something."

"Well, there are throwing knives," the girl stated. "They're cheap and have good damage but they're real world skill based so they're unpopular because they're hard to use. Plus they have even worse range ratings than a pistol, which is only slightly more expensive."

"I want knives," Michael decided looking toward the guns then sighed. "And a blaster."

"Really?" The girl asked. "You not planning to go player vs player?"

"I probably will," Michael stated. "But...I'm unsure about using a live ammo gun."

"Why?" The girl asked, seeming a bit more interested than he would have expected.

"It's...it's a long story," Michael sighed. "So, how much is my weapons and armor going to cost?"

"A bit, depending on what we get you," the girl stated. "How much do you have?"

"Um," Michael pulled up his menu. "One thousand credits."

"More than you have," thebgirl sighed. "Do you have anything to sell?"

"The only thing I have is an M9000 Avatar Model," Michael stated.

"A-An M9000?" The girl gaped. "That's worth...fortunes!"

A male player who had overheard ran over, shouting about mega-credits. After a moment, the girl grabbed Michael's hand, manipulating it to trade away the M9000. In exchange, Michael got nearly five hundred thousand credits. The player equipped the avatar model and became what appeared to be a teenage girl with long hair qnd a slim build. Then, the player ran off and the girl sighed.

"There, that should get you some good gear," the girl sighed. "So, you said knives and an Optical Rifle right? This way."

He followed her through the store to a screen displaying several types of knives. After scanning through, he chose one with a balance of range and damage. After paying for it, a small bucket-shaped robot scurried over and the knife appeared over it. It was roughly eight inches long with a three inch rectangular grip and a five inch curved blade. It came with a scabard which automatically attached to the back of his belt. He put the knife away and the girl led him to a screen displaying Optical Rifles.

He began to scan through them and comparing their stats, trying to decide what he liked best. After a bit, he decided on one that had a balance of all the stats. Its grip was simply a thumb hole in the buttstock, the trigger in front of that, and a screen built into a raised portion of the top that read how many shots were left. He bought it and the same robot sped over, the rifle appearing over it. He took it, marvelling at how light it felt. With the girl giving him advice about what to get, he also bought a suit of haphazard armor consisting of a black shirt with lightweight black armor plates on the front, shoulders, back, and with black armor gauntlets, a pair of plain black pants, and a pair of black combat boots. He was amazed that the armor was so light. He didn't feel any weight from it, which aparently was the way it was designed, even in real life. She also convinced him to buy a strong protective field for Optical Rifles and five extra magazines for his rifle.

"There, you should be good now," the girl said. "You wanna test the weapons?"

Michael nodded and she led him to a shooting range where several players were firing live ammo weapons. She rented them a target point and told him that he would have unlimited ammo while he was testing his weapon since he bought it there but that once they left he would have to start buying ammo. He nodded and raised the rifle, a hologram appearing on top. It was an oval with a circle inside. The circle had two lines forming a cross inside and he smirked.

"Nice sights," Michael smirked.

He moved his finger to the trigger and a spinning green circle appeared in his vision. He moved his finger off the trigger and the circle disappeared.

"What's the circle?" Michael asked.

"It's the program in the game designed to help the player shoot but make it a challenge too," the girl explained. "The speed with which it expands and contracts is controlled by your heart rate. The faster it's beating and the less calm you are, the faster it moves. It adjusts for windage on its own, you'd see it slightly off to whichever side. Your shot will hit randomly within the circle."

Michael nodded, placing his finger onto the trigger again. The circle appeared, expanding from taking up the entire target, therefor also extending a ways away from it on the sides, then shrinking to a small circle taking up only the chest. He waited, getting a feel for timing then squeezed off a shot as the circle was almost fully shrunk. He fired off a few more, watching them streak past the target, and the girl brought the target to them. Michael groaned. He had hit the target only once and that one was just barely on the target.

"It takes practice," the girl stated. "I've been playing for months. I couldn't hit anything when I started."

"I suppose," Michael sighed. "I thought for sure that first shot was good though."

"That probably was," the girl laughed. "Remember, I said it hits randomly in the circle. I'd guess it just happened to hit on the edge of the circle."

Michael nodded and sent the target back out, sighting in and trying again, paying more attention to the circle this time. Each time he shot, it jumped back to its biggest, accounting for his other shots missing. He slowed down, letting the circle shrink down between shots and this time managed to score several hits in a row, all but one being bull's eyes.

"That's more like it," the girl smiled.

The target reset itself and Michael sent it back out, slinging his rifle diagonally across his back and drawing his knife. He hurled it as hard as he could and it sailed theough the air about three quarters of the distance before dropping. It hit roughly ten feet in front of the target and Michael sighed, the girl staring in shock. Michael reached back but there was no new knife in the sheath.

"Uh, do I have to buy a new one now?" Michael asked, panicked that he had waisted a lot of money on the knife.

"No," the girl chuckled. "Just hold your hand like you have it and are going to throw it again."

He did as instructed, mind flashing back to when he first learned how to fly in ALfheim Online. The knife appeared in his hand, the one he had thrown still in the ground. He began to throw and generate new ones rapidly, aiming higher. This time, they began to hit the target, just too low to be considered a hit if he was being scored.

"Holy crap," the girl said. "I didn't know they could reach that far."

"Can you kill someone with it without throwing them?" Michael asked.

"You mean a melee kill?" the girl asked. "Yeah. Melee kills have doubled damage with blades but no one ever gets close enough to use them so no one bothers."

Michael nodded and put his knife away then thought of something else.

"Can the knife be placed anywhere else?" Michael asked.

"Yes," the girl nodded. "You just dragg it to whatever spot you want it."

Michael gripped the sheath and it detatched from his belt. He put it vertically on his right thigh where he kept his right knife in ALfheim Online and a strap appeared, securing it in place. Once he had decided he was content, they left the store.

"I gotta go," the girl said. "Maybe we'll meet up some time."

"Probably with you shooting at me," Michael smirked.

"You would never know," she smiled. "I'm a sniper."

He couldn't help but smile and nod, thanking her. Then, she turned and walked away. He left the city, finding himself in a barren wasteland. As he walked along, he saw players running around in the distance but not paying him any mind. Even so, given the game's nature, he rested a hand on his knife. It would be easier to draw then his rifle at a moment's notice.

After a bit, a red line appeared in his field of view, aiming directly between his eyes. He instinctively dropped and a bullet streaked through the air where the line had been.

"Helpful," Michael mused, drawing his rifle and ducking into cover.

He peeked out, another line appearing instantly. He saw a player at the other end with what looked like an M16 and smirked. He ducked back into cover as the bullet streaked past. Then, he stepped out, firing. Two shots hit beside the player, making him flinch, then one hit a barrier around him. Michael fired several more times, walking forward. Suddenly, three red lines reached his chest. He dove aside, avoiding the bullets then put his rifle away and drew his knife, sprinting forward. The player began to laugh, firing rapidly at him. Michael turned, circling the player to stay out of his aim. Then, he spun, hurling the knife and summoning another. The knife spun through the air, sticking into the ground about twenty yards short.

"Knives?" The player laughed. "You'll never hit me with that!"

Michael sprinted forward and the player began to fire as fast as he could, red lines filling Michael's vision. Michael dropped, sliding under the bullets then stood and hurled another knife. The knife stuck into a dirt mound the player had initially been hidden behind. The player, being in the process of reloading, dropped the magazine in surprise, stumbling back. He managed to get another magazine out and load the rifle just as Michael began to pepper him with laser shots. After a moment, the barrier flashed and the next shot hit thw player in the thigh.

"Shit!" The player shouted aiming at Michael.

Michael fired one last time then ducked under a shot from the player, watching his own shot smash through the scope on top of the M16 and then through the player's head. The player exploded into data shards and Michael slung his rifle across his back again then turned, walking away. As he walked, he saw two groups of players fighting. One group had only Optical Rifles and the other had nothing but live ammo. Within minutes, the group with the Optical Rifles was defeated and the other group turned toward Michael.

He groaned as his body lit up red and bullets began to fly toward him. For a moment, they simply whizzed past but before he could try to move, they began to punch holes in him as well. Then, he was standing outside the gun shop again. He had all of his gear and weapons still but the hundred thousand or so credits he had had left were gone.

"Shit," Michael sighed. "That could have gone better."

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	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the character.

* * *

Plunderers of the Deep

Michael ducked under a spider and slashed, splitting it in half.

"I love swords," Michael grinned.

"Gun Gale not your cup of tea?" Kirito asked, slashing a pair of spider behind him.

"It's fucking hard," Michael complained. "I got beat the second fight I was in and lost a hundred thousand credits."

"Ouch," Kirito chuckled as they killed the last spider, clearing the trap they had stumbled into. "Come on. We're going to be late to the beach."

Michael nodded and they flew out of the forest, heading south. They landed on a beach where Klein, Leafa, Asuna, Agil, Lisbeth, and a young girl named Silica were all waiting.

"Everybody ready?" Kirito asked.

They nodded and all flew out over the water, flying until they reached the coordinates.

"Should be around here somewhere," Kirito said thoughtfully.

"Is that it?" Klein asked, pointing to a glowing spot on the water.

"Yeah, that's probably it," Kirito nodded.

"Alright, I'll cast waterbreathing on us," Asuna said, beginning the spell.

"Alright, I'll be taking th3 role of party leader for this mission," Kirito spoke up. "Since we're undrwater, expect your weapons to swing slower and no lightning spells or abilities, at all."

"That might be a shocking experience," Michael grinned.

Kirito snorted and Lisbeth rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Kirito said. "Let's go."

They all flew to the glowing spot and dove in, beginning to swim downward. Leafa seemed to have some trouble adjusting, stemming from her fear of water, but after a moment, she was okay. They swam toward a massive undersea castle where an NPC waited on a pier of sorts outside of a barrier.

"Greetings," the NPC, a short man with a tattered brown cloak, a long white beard, and long white hair, spoke up. "Would you mind helping me? A group of thieves stole something preacious to me, a pearl, and brought it here. I would go through but sadly only fairies can pass through the barrier, not us sea folk. Would you mind retrieving it for me? It is roughly this big."

He held his hands about two feet apart and Michael smirked.

"That's one big pearl," Michael grinned. "Shame we can't keep it."

"The quest is to get the pearl back to him, not to steal it," Lisbeth snapped.

"I know," Michael snorted. "I'm not completely stupid."

Kirito, who had accepted the quest as they talked, turned to them.

"Me, Klein, Agil, and Michael will be the assault team," Kirito stated. "The rest of you are on support."

They all nodded and turned, swimming to the door and landing outside the barrier. They walked into the hallway and silently began to follow it it wound and wove through the castle, going up and down stairs as it did. Finally, they stopped as a massive crab charged down the hallway at them. Michael stepped forward, blocking a claw with his sword as Klein and Agil darted past, slashing at it. As Kirito had said, their movements were slower. The crab batted both aside just as Kirito slashed it with an ice ability. The crab froze then shattered and Klein and Agil stood.

"Seafood monsters huh?" Michael snorted. "I love this place already."

They continued down the hallway and a group of four giant pirahnas swam out of a side passage at them. Asuna and Leafa both launched a fireball at the pirahnas but missed. One swam at Leafa but before it could reach her, a knife stuck into the side of its head, killing it. Michael grinned. The girl from Gun Gale would be really impressed at him throwing knives underwater when he could barely move his arms. He spun, slashing another fish with his sword as Kirito and Klein killed the other two. Michael retrieved his knife and they continued.

As they made their way through the palace, they fought all manner of sea life. Even a couple of demonic mermen. After a bit, Leafa swam foward to help as they struggled against a very fast fish. Just as she killed it, however, a pit in the floor opened, along with a typhoon. They all turned to swim away but Leafa was caught. Kirito reacted instantly, swimming to the center of the typhoon and spinning in the opposite direction of thebwater, slowing it to a stop and catching Leafa, swimming away from the pit while it closed.

"Thank you," Leafa sighed. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Kiriro sighed.

"Come on," Michael said. "Let's go get that giant pearl."

They followed him to the others then continued along the hallway. Finally, they reached a large chamber with dozens of exits. In the center was a raised platform with a pile of metal shards and the pearl on top. It looked kind of like a nest with the pearl as the egg.

"Nice pearl," Klein grinned.

"Guard the door," Michael said, swimming to the pearl and picking it up then swimming back to them.

Just as he landed, a pair of octopi swam in, reaching for him. Kirito slashed the tentacles and Asuna and Leafa peppered the octopi with fireballs killing them. They all headed back out, Leafa taking Michael's spot on the assault team. When they got outside, Michael passed the pearl to Kirito and Kirito walked forward.

"Oh you're very kind," the old man thanked him.

"Any of you guys think it's strange that we never met those thieves the old man was talking about?" Lisbeth asked.

"Shit," Michael groaned just as Asuna shouted for Kirito to stop then swam over, taking the pearl and holding it up.

"What's she doing?" Silica asked.

"It's an egg," Michael growled, just as the NPC began to mutate and grow rapidly.

When it stopped, he was a massive creature with dozens of massive tentacles, black spikes running backward on its head, large red eyes, and two thick but relatively small tentacles on the front of its head, probably over his mouth.

"That is the egg of the Royal Child," the creature, now revealed to be Kraken, stated. "Give it to me."

"Never!" Kirito shouted.

"Then die!" Kraken roared.

It swung a massive tentacle down at them and Klein and Agil rushed forward, trying to block it. As they did, Kirito slashed the tentacle with a fire skill and Asuna swam to the others. Michael took the egg, handing it to Silica.

"Leafa, Silica, Lisbeth, guard the egg," Michael growled.

He drew his sword, swimming down to the others as it swiped at them again. Michael blocked the tentacle and sailed theough the water, stopping in open oceqn, health in the red.

"Strong," Michael breathed, staring at the seven health bars. "Stronger than even the New Aincrad final boss. Damn."

Kirito and the others had been hit as well and were all struggling to stand. Michael swam over just as the front two tentacles flipped, up, revealing a mouth with teeth on all sides. Kraken lunged forward but just as he did, a massive trident crashed down in front of it, blocking it.

"I know that spear," Kraken growled as a massive man rivaling Krakken for size with silver armor, a blue cape, a grey beard, and grey hair landed beside them, eight health bars appearing and his label identifying him as Leviathan the Sea King.

"It's been a long time old friend," Leviathan spoke. "I see you're still up to your old tricks."

"And I see you're still playing lapdog to the minions of æsir," Kraken snarled. "You disgrace your title. Lord of the Sea. Hah!"

"I am Lord of the Sea," Leviathan said flatly. "And you are in my backyard. Now, do you really wish to fight me, Lord of the Abyss?"

"I shall withdraw for now," Kraken snarled. "But take heed, Old Friend, this is not over. Soon, I shall claim the power of the child. Then I will rise up against æsir. Mark my words."

He swam backward, falling into the darkness below and vanishing. Leviathan turned to Michael and the others.

"Thank you for guarding the egg from him, and I am sorry that you were tricked into this by him in the first place," Leviathan said.

"Sorry we put the egg in danger," Michael said.

"It is not your fault," Leviathan said. "Give me the egg. I will return it to its resting place."

Silica held out the egg and Leviathan held his hand out, the egg teleporting away.

"Now, allow me to provide you with a ride home," Leviathan said.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over them. When they looked up, they saw a whale above them. It swam lower, stopping beside the pier. They all climbed on and the whale left, swimming to the surface with them. Once there, they took to the sky and it left.

"That could have been very bad," Michael said.

"No doubt," Kirito nodded. "He dropped us to a sliver in one attack."

"He was strong enough that he should have killed us," Michael stated. "The mission protected us. Anyway, I'm going to save and log out. I have a few things to do before I go to bed and I work tomorrow."

Kirito nodded and Michael turned, flying away as fast as he could. When he had saved at an inn, he logged out and got his clothes ready for work. He took a shower and ate then went to sleep.

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	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Style

Michael logged onto Gun Gale and found himself at the main gate. He left the city, deciding to get some practice fighting. After all, as good as he was in ALfheim, he was aweful in GGO, if his last fight was any indicator.

After leaving, be drew his rifle and walked along the road. After an hour, he stopped. There was a gate up ahead guarded by six players and a sniper. He zighted in but there was no way he could hit them from that distance. He sighed, drawing his knife and slinging his rifle then quietly hurried forward, staying as silent as possible as he neared the gate. It was a massive set of steel doors with four players patrolling on the far side, the sniper standing on the walkway above and facing away, and one on each end, guarding the stairs. Michael could see a pair of grenades on the sniper's belt, bezide a pistol, and grinned.

He waited until one of the stair guards had their back turned and hurried forward and up to winding stairs then silently climbed them, stopping just out of sight at the top. The sniper was bored, judging by his expression and was staring out at the wasteland before him over the top of his rifle. Michael waited, keeping himself ready to move the moment he saw an opening. Then, it came. The Sniper began to yawn, firing hand reaching up to cover his mouth.

Michael sprinted forward, slashing the surprised sniper's throat and grabbing a grenade. Just as the sniper grabbed for his pistol, Michael spun, driving the knife into the side of his head, killing him. At the sound of the sniper shattering, Michael ducked as bits of the walkway began to fly over him from bullets. He armed the grenade and dropped it when he ueard someone coming up the stairs, then jumped off. The two stair guards ran onto the walkway, aiming down at him just as the grenade exploded, launching them both off, both exploding.

Michael felt a bullet punch through his shoulder and dove behind cover, swearing. He heard one of the last four shouting to surround him and leaned out, hurling his knife. It hit one in the shoulder, making him spin and shoott another player by accident. Michael leaned back into cover, drawing his rifle as bits of the rock he was hiding behind flew past. Just as he was about to lean out, a player stepped around the rock, aiming a pistol at him. Michael summoned a knife, leaning out of the way of the bullet then slashed the player's leg.

Before he could kill them, another stepped out behind him. He saw several red lines extend past his head and dove sideways, rolling a few feet and sprinting behind a destroyed wall. He leaned out, firing at the player on the ground and it hit a barrier. He stepped back, summoning his knife as the wall was blasted. Then, he sprinted out, hurling the knife and hitting the standing one in the throat, killing him. Just as he neared cover, the last player stepped out, aiming at him with a shotgun. Michael dropped, sliding to a stop and avoiding the shotgun blast. Then, he began to pull the trigger as fast as he could, muzzel less than a foot from the player. Blasts slammed into his barrier for a moment before they began to tip through the player, killing him in only a few shots. Michael stood, diving into cover as the last player managed to tag him in the back with several shots.

Michael dropped to the ground, groaning as his health began to regenerate. He stood, summoning his knife and stepped out of cover, hurling the knife and ducking, a spray of automatic fire passing over him before the knife hit the player, killing him. Michael sighed, summoning a knife and putting it away before pulling out his rifle.

"That wasn't so bad," Michael grinned. "I definitely prefer my knives."

He headed back toward the city, lookijg at what he had gotten on the way. He now had roughly fifty thousand credits and a machine gun. He'd have to remember to sell it later. Just as he closed his inventory, a red line flashed out of the distance to his head. Then, he was in the city again, broke and with no new machine gun to sell.

"Fucking kidding me," Michael growled. "God damn bullshit. I hate snipers."

"Gee thanks," a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

He spun, grinning as he spotted the girl that had helped him get started standing a few paces away. She smiled and walked over.

"Got smoked did you?" she asked.

"I didn't have time to register that there was a line," Michael complained.

"I know," she grinned. "That's the beauty of sniper rifles. You can't react before the bullet hits you. So, what're you up to?"

"Trying to get used to this game," Michael sighed. "I converted from a fantasy game so I'm used to blades, not bullets."

"I figured as much when you chose knives," she snorted. "Everyone has their own style, I suppose. I like being too far away to be shot. I suppose it makes sense that there are also people like you who like to be close enough to use a knife."

"My style is knives," Michael stated. "I'm aweful with a rifle."

"Against players maybe," the girl laughed. "But still, I think you could come in handy."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"I joined a group recently that could use some more help," she stated. "We're a PK gang, so I won't blame you for turning the offer down. We are trying to make a lot of money quickly so we'll be hitting monster hunting gangs. You wanna play?"

"I guess so," Michael nodded, deciding there was really no harm since PKing couldn't kill anymore. "Where do I sign up?"

"Just meet me here tomorrow," she said. "We're going to have tryouts. We need to know for sure that you are able to fight."

He nodded and she turned to walk away then stopped.

"By the way, I don't think I ever introduced myself," she said looking back at him. "I'm Sinon."

"Michael," Michael introduced himself. "See you tomorrow."

Sinon nodded and walked out the gate. Michael saved then logged out.

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	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Tryouts

Michael stepped into the bar and smirked. Sinon was in the ring, easily avoiding a player with a rifle by getting up close. Then, she put her machine pistol to his side and blasted him, ending the match. She collected her reward money and got out of the ring, seeing Michael sitting at the bar. She sat beside him and ordered a drink.

"You're early," Sinon stated.

"I had nothing better to do today," Michael shrugged. "Figured I'd come hang out."

"And you just happened to comento the one bar I'm at," Sinon smirked.

"Hey, that actually was a cooincidence," Michael stated. "I actually went to a random bar to drink. It's not my fault I only know of the one bar."

Sinon laughed and shook her head.

"Don't you know how to use the map?" Sinon asked.

"This game has a map?" Michael blinked.

Sinon tipped her head back, laughing so hard she nearly fell off her bar stool and began to cry. Finally she stopped, wiping her eyes.

"I'll hand it to you," Sinon said, trying not to start laughing again. "You are one of a kind."

"I'd have figured you knew that already," Michael smirked.

"True," Sinon nodded, grinning. "Well, since you're here anyway, what do you want to do?"

"How about a fight?" Michael asked. "Let's see just how good you really are."

"Against a knife fighter?" Sinon snorted. "Hell no. I'm a sniper. Your fighting style gives you an unfair advantage."

"At range, so wouldn't yours," Michael stated.

"True," Sinon nodded. "So, what else do you want to do?"

"Well, how about you tell me about this game," Michael said.

"Alright," Sinon nodded. "Well, for starters, you can access the map through your menu. The game, as I said before, is designed for players to kill players, but at the same time, there are also monsters. Certain Monsters drop gear tht you can't buy like armor or rifles. One in particular that I'm preparing to go after is rumored to have one of the most powerful sniper rifles in the game. I want it. And soon enough, I'll get it. Anyway, in the game, there are groups that stick to hunting monsters in order to make money and there are those who target these groups and kill them for anything they get on a hunt. My group is one of this kind. Most monster hunting groups are weak, arrmed with Optical Rifles since they are best for monster hunting. That makes them easy targets for us. They are equipped to fight monsters rather than players."

"Makes sense," Michael nodded. "Think they'll have shielding?"

"Maybe," Sinon shrugged. "Depends on the players. They might not bother becahse most PKers use live ammo."

Michael nodded and sipped at his drink. Sinon did the same and looked around.

"Oh, one thing I forgot to mention," Sinon stated. "There's an recurring tornament called Bullet of Bullets, BOB for short. The point is to slaughter your way through the ranks in PvP combat. The initial fights are one-on-one in a random battle zone. The finals are a battle royale between the last thirty players. The next tournament is actually only a couple weeks away."

"Sounds fun," Michael grinned. "I'll have to sign up."

Sinon smiled and nodded. Then, she stood.

"We should go," Sinon said. "The others will be there soon."

Michael nodded and they left, heading to the main gate and finding a man in a coubow hat, cowboy boots, and an orange poncho waiting.

"There you are," the man said. "I assume this is him?"

"Yes," Sinon noded. "Michael, meet Dyne. Dyne, Michael. Are they ready?"

"They are," Dyne nodded. "You going to help out?"

"That would be an unfair test," Sinon stated. "I'll watch with you. I have better attention to detail than you."

Dyne nodded and turned to Michael.

"Leave the city and head straight out," Dyne stated. "We have a group waiting to ambush you. If you can do well enough, you're free to join."

Michael nodded and left the city, Dyne and Sinon following. Dyne pointed out the road he had to walk down and Michael drew his rifle, walking away, glancing back and seeing Sinon watching through a sniper rifle scope. He sighed, continuing and watching carefully for any sign of an ambush. Finally, he stopped, looking back. The city had disappeared from sight almost ten minutes ago. Maybe the ambush hadn't been paying attention and he had missed it.

He turned to walk back the other way and nearly a dozen red lines extended past his head from behind. He dove sideways, bullets flying past. He rolled into cover, peeking through a small hole in the wall. There were now four players walking toward him. One was wearing black with a white visor, one was wearing black SWAT armor, one with black shirt and cargo pants, combat boots, and a green mohawk, and one had black clothes, a black mask over the lower half of his face, goggles, and had blonde highlights in his hair.

Michael fired through the hole and, as expected, the blast hit a barrier. The players did, however, duck into cover, and Michael took the oportunity to sprint out of his cover and to a new rock. The players began to fire at his last cover and Michael drew his knife, hurling it at one of them and hitting them in the hand, making then shout in pain. Michael ducked down, the rock above him being peppered. Then, he got up and sprinted around the players, bullets hitting around him.

"Lucky bastard!" The one with the mohawk shouted. "Die!"

Michael spun, hurling a knife just as a bullet punched through his shoulder. He fell, tripping over his own feet and landed on his back, a spray of lead passing over him. He looked over, seeing that the player with the visor was gone. He grinned and rolled onto his stomach and drawing his rifle, firing a couple of shots. The player with the mohawk simply sprinted forward, the blasts hitting his barrier harmlessly. Just as he aimed at Michael, Michael rolled behind cover. The cover was a corner of wall so Michael moved around to the other side just as the player stepped around the first side. The plYer snorted, walking forward, rifle up, but just as he got to the corner, Michael grabbed the barrel, slamming the buttstock into the player's face then killing him with his knife.

The last player stepped around the wall, blasting Michael in the back and Michael spun, hurling a knife. It scratched the player on the cheek, making him stagger backward from surprise but the knife had missed. Michael swore as he landed on the ground and the player aimed at him.

"So close," Michael sighed.

Before he could die, a sniper shot hit the ground at the other player's feet, making him jump back. He and Michael looked where it had come from and saw Sinon and Dyne walking toward them.

"Looks like you survive this one," the player stated, pulling his goggles up. "Congratulations. But you'll need a better rifle."

"Probably," Michael nodded. "But I'll pass."

The player snorted and they waited until Sinon and Dyne arrived.

"You pass," Dyne said. "We go hunting tomorrow at sixteen hundred. Meet us at the gate."

Then, he logged out and the other player did the same. Sinon motioned for Kirito to follow her and they began to head back toward the city.

"You did very well today," Sinon stated. "I almost didn't believe you when you said you could use knives. You really should consider a live ammo rifle."

"I know," Michael sighed. "But I'd prefer not to. It's...complicated."

"I suppose everyone has something complicated in their past," Sinon shrugged. "Keep the Optical Rifle if you want. You're good enough with the knives. That was what Dyne decided to let you in for. Your ability to use a knife successfully was what got you in."

"Good to know," Michael nodded. "Just wish I could hack the game to make my rifle not effected by barriers."

"Helpful as it would be, that would be unfair," Sinon stated. "To not worry about barriers, get live ammo. Otherwise, you'll have to put up with it."

Michael nodded. She was right. Though he could hack the rifle's programming to bypass the barrier, it would be unfair. He would prefer not to cheat. During SAO was one thing, since it had been life or death, but GGO was just for fun.

Finally they reached the same bar they had met at and sat down. Sinon ordered a drink and Michael looked toward the ring. Someone in the ring was talking tough, saying he couldn't be beaten. He was holding a pair of machine pistols and was wearing a black cloak, bright red pants, and a bright blue chest plate.

"Don't," Sinon said, knowing what Michael was planning. "Good as you are, you're not good enough. Besides, you should hide your rare skill. News travels fast. You'd be better off keeping it secret. Especially for BOB."

Michael sighed and nodded, as someone stepped into the ring. The player laughed as the player, someone SWAT armor and holding an AA-12 fully automatic assault rifle, aimed at him. Just as he began to fire, the player with the machine pistols ducked and darted around the challenger, knocking his rifle upward then stood, placing the machine pistols to the challenger's eyes and blew his head into ribbons. Michael stared at the player as the challenger shattered.

"So, what do you say kid?" The player asked as he turned toward Michael. "You've been watching a while. Wanna play?"

Michael looked over at Sinon and she shook her head, smirking.

"Whatever," Sinon sighed. "Your virtual funeral."

Michael grinned and stood, walking to the ring and getting in. A box asking him if he wanted to challenge the player appeared and he accepted, drawing his knife, seeing the barrier projector glowing on the player's belt. The player laughed and raised his pistols, grinning. A timer appeared, counting down from ten. The moment it hit zero, red lines flashed to Michael, bullets already halfway to him. Michael dove to the side, rolling as bullets slammed into the glass. Michael hurled his knife, the player avoiding it easily.

Michael summoned another and sprinted forward, slashing at the player, who spun out of the way, a pistol whipping around. Michael leaned forward, foot rising and blocking the arm. Michael hurled his knife again and the player only barely avoided it. Then, Michael summoned a new knife, rolling to the first and picking it up in his free hand, spinning toward the player and diving aside from a spray of bullets.

"You've got good reaction time," the player smirked. "I shouldn't be surprised."

Michael narrowed his eyes in confusion, raising his knives as the plYer put one machine pistol back in its holster and also equipped a pump action shotgun. Michael sprinted forward, slashing at the player and the player kicked Daniel's arm, stopping it and raised the pistol. Michael brought his knee up, knocking the pistol upward and the player released it. Michael instantly leapt back, hurling both knives and forcing the player to drop to the ground, a knife removing several haIrs.

"You," Michael snarled. "So this is where you've been."

"I'm impressed," the player smirked. "Only just beginning and alreafy you know me. Hello, Michael. It's been a while."

"Archon," Michael snarled. "Of course you're back. I should have known. I was foolish to think you'd fuck off."

Archon grinned and bowed, raising his second machine pistol. Michael growled in annoyance, summoning a new knife and crouched, readying himself. Archon grinned then lowered the gun.

"It's been fun," Archon grinned. "But now I have other things to attend to."

And with that, he resigned, granting Michael the reward money and then logged out. Michael growled in annoyance and exited the ring, walking over to the bar and ordering a drink.

"What happened?" Sinon asked. "The glass is too thick for voices. Why'd he quit."

"He is a pain in my ass that I don't need," Michael grumbled. "He enjoys attacking me no matter which game I'm in. I was hoping he wouldn't be here. Shame I was wrong."

"Sorry," Sinon apologized. "I gotta go. I have something to do tomorrow."

"It's fine," Michael said. "I'll see you later."

Sinon smiled and logged out and Michael did the same, going to bed with the headache that usually went with dealing with Archon.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Therapy

Michael leaned against the wall beside the gate and sighed. They were late. It was nearly eighteen hundred and no one had shown up.

"How long have you been waiting?" Sinon asked as she stepped out of an allyway off to one side.

"Since a little before sixteen," Michael stated.

"Sorry," Sinon sighed. "Dyne was supposed to message you. The party we were going to hunt changed the time of their arrival. They won't be in position until around eighteen thirty."

Michael sighed and nodded. Sinon leaned on the wall beside him and they waited in silence for the others. Finally the others arrived and they left. Michael followed them through the wasteland outside the city until they reached a destroyed city. Sinon took up position in the ruins of a skyscraper where she could shoot and Michael followed the others to the ambush point. Dyne and him stayed on one side and the other three formed a line in front of the approaching party. Everyone drew their weapons and waited. Dyne explained that Sinon would take the first shot and that would signal them to begin.

Michael rolled over into the prone and looked through a small hole in the wall he and Dyne were hidden behind and spotted the group easily. There were six in total. All had light armor, Optical Rifles, and none had shield projectors. Michael grinned just as one with a much larger Optical Rifle than the others had the pleasure of a sniper bullet punching a round through his head. The players all sighted in toward Sinon but before they could open fire, Dyne and Michael popped up, firing at them. One fell to a hail of bullets from Dyne instantly and another from a well placed headshot by Michael. The other three turned toward them and a hail of bullets slammed into them from the rest of Dyne's team.

"It's just too easy," one of them said.

"You think so huh?" Michael asked looking down the road. "Sorry for the disappointment."

"What's with you?" the player asked.

"Nothing," Michael said. "Here. I don't need it."

He transferred the money he had gotten from his kill to Dyne along with the rifle he had gotten then looked up toward Sinon, then back to Dyne.

"Anything else today?" Michael asked.

"No, we're done," Dyne said. "Why?"

Michael logged out without a response. Once he was back in reality, he took off his NerveGear and sat up, sighing. He walked to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. The face staring back was pale with dark circle from not sleeping hnder his eyes. His hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Just a little while longer," Michael muttered. "It'll help. It has to. But for now, I think a break is in order."

He walked outside, looking up at the clouds and shielding his eyes. He bit back a yawn, blinking and seeing a flash of fire, hearing a scream. He opened his eyes. He was in bed. He didn't remember going to bed. He didn't remember changing into pajamas, and he didn't remember it becoming night, but the sky outside was dotted with stars. Michael lay back down, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Try as he might, it elluded him.

"Fuck," Michael sighed. "Fine. I give up."

He sat up, picking up his phone and looking at the time. It was two in the morning. He sighed and sent a text to his therapist. Just as he set the phone down, it buzzed. He picked it up, looking at it and found he had an alert from both ALfheim Online and GGO. The alert from ALfheim was a message from Eugene requesting help in a dungeon raid. The GGO alert was an announcement about BoB and a message from Sinon from earlier asking if he was alright. He sighed and set the phone down and closed his eyes, drifting off.

* * *

Fire flashed in the distance. By the time the first report reached his ears, blood had already splattered across his face. The flames flashed twice more, the reports once again coming only after the damage was done. Blood splattered on the floor, then across his chest. Screams finally rang out. All around people ran for cover. Vehicles screached to a stop. People abandoned them in the street. A police officer ran toward him, trying to get him away from the scene. Another flash of fire. The officer dropped.

* * *

Michael sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. He checked his phone. His therapist could meet with him at ten. Good timing too. He showered, brushed his teeth and got dressed. Then he left, heading to his therapist's office and being let in immediately.

"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice," Michael sighed, sitting on the couch.

"It's fine," she smiled. "Judging by those bags under your eyes, you need to talk."

Michael nodded and turned, laying back on the couch.

"I'm having the dreams again," Michael said miserably. "The same as before. I'm in the street and they..."

"I remember," the therapist nodded, knowing he wouldn't want to talk about it. "Why do you think they started again?"

"I started playing Gun Gale Online, like you suggested," Michael stated. "I don't know if it will help, but...so far it has only made it worse."

"I see," she nodded. "Is there any progress on clearing New Aincrad?"

"We have the first few floors cleared," Michael stated. "Our progress is slowed considerably by the new Laughing Coffin, run by Archon. We're progressing but it seems like every time we make progress, they attack the surviving raiding party and take all the gear and money they get from the raid. Archon is, of course, hounding me in Gun Gale Online as well now too."

"He never should have gotten access to internet again," she sighed. "But at least he can't kill now."

"He's still annoying as fuck," Michael sighed. "Sorry."

"Anything about GGO?" she asked.

"I love GGO," Michael stated. "It's one of the most challenging games I've played in a while. And I met a friend there. Sinon. She taught me how the game worms and got me into her group so I would be able to get playing experience without being massacred."

"What's she like?" she asked.

"Guarded," Michael snorted. "She's kind and patient and has no problem teaching new players but she doesn't tell anyone anything about herself. Took me days to even learn her gamertag."

"I see," she nodded. "Maybe she has some past trauma that she doesn't want people to know. Or maybe she comes from a broken home."

"I thought you were supposed to be _my _therapist," Michael smirked.

"Right, sorry," she sighed. "Well, for now all I can say is that you should continue to play and see if it gets any better. If it gets worse, I would advise you to stop, though."

Michael nodded and left. He went home and logged onto ALfheim Online, heading to the new Knights of the Blood Oath HQ to meet with Eugene.

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	29. Chapter 29

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. Got the boss designs from Lost Song.

* * *

Dungeon Diving

Michael pushed the door open, stepping into the dungeon, Eugene standing beside him, Gram resting on his shoulder. Michael spun his Elucidator slowly in his hand, looking around. The dungeon was an old cave system. They slowly walked into the dungeon, eyes roving. Laughing Coffin had been pestering the Knights of the Blood Oath constantly since it had been reformed, making it hard for them to level. Fortunatly, they had been leveling for the most part. Eugene, Kirito, and most players had built their stats back up quite effectively. Michael's stats had actually falllen behind as he had been spending so much time in GGO.

As Michael rounded a corner, a pair of fat, green, human-pig hybrids leapt at him, slashing with axes. Michael blocked both with his Elucidator and shoved them back. Eugene stepped around, bisecting one and Michael split the other up the front. Both shattered and Michael continued forward. As they walked, Eugene kept an eye to the rear, watching for Laughing Coffin. Just as they reached a locked door, a pair of laughing coffin members stepped out of the shadows, one of them holding a key.

"Hello Michael, Eugene," the one with the key smirked. "Pleasure to see you."

"You're here for the rare treasure too huh?" Eugene growled. "Figures. But, at least you won't be able to attack us after the boss battle."

He spun, slashing at them and they ducked under it. One stabbed at him with a rapier and Michael slashed it aside, kicking at him. The Laughing Coffin caught his foot. The other stepped forward but had to block a slash from Eugene. The blade passed through his sword and he leapt back, barely avoiding it. As Eugene attacked him, Michael slashed his opponent across the chest then stabbed at him. The player deflected it and then stabbed Michael. Before he could do anything more, Eugene split him in half. Then he spun and split the other player as well.

"Thanks," Michael sighed. "I'm bringing my GGO avatar's stats back over."

"I bet," Eugene laughed. "Come on. It shouldn't be much further."

They continued walking, and after a bit, they came to a massive blood red iron door set into the wall with carvings of corpses everywhere and a single silhouette standing amid them. Just as Michael reached out to the door, he recieved a message. He stopped, opening it and reading it. It was from Sinon. She believed she had found the dungeon containing the monster she had been searching for. She was going later that day and was offering him the chance to go with her. He replied that he would be there later then closed the chat window, smiling slightly at the thought of fighting something that wasn't a person in GGO. Eugene gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. Then, he reached out and pushed the door open.

"Let's make this quick," Michael suggested. "I've got somewhere to be."

Eugene nodded, raising Gram as Michael readied his Elucidator. There was no boss or even an enemy in the room. In fact, the room was deserted, save for a single torch in the center. They walked toward the torch and it began to lower itself. It stopped when it was about level with their chests. Michael felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and turned around, looking at their shadows on the wall. The shadows were roughly equal in size as they were and as Eugene turned to look, the shadows stepped off the wall, separating from them and becoming three dimensional silhouettes.

"What are...those?" Eugene asked as their five life bars appeared along with the word vardoger.

"Doppelganger," Michael grumbled. "They're doppelgangers."

Eugene sprinted at his silhouette, slashing at it and it deflected his sword with its own. Then, it stabbed at him and he moved to block it. Before he could, however, the sword passed through his, slicing a gash in his shoulder. He leapt back and landed beside Michael, holding a hand over the injury, although it faded.

"That sword has mine's ability, and is immune to mine," Eugene snarled.

"Just a minute," Michael said as he and his own doppelganger both charged.

When they met, Michael slashed and it easily deflected his sword then slashed at him overhead. He raised his sword, blocking it and falling to one knee.

"Damn," Michael growled. "That's some STR stat. Figures. They've got higher stats than us."

Michael leapt sideways, the sword crashing down where he was. Michael rolled to his feet, raising his sword to block a slash and was sent flying. He flipped, landing on his feet and driving his sword into the ground. He skidded to a stop, standing and looking at Eugene. Eugene shrugged and sprinted forward, qctivatjng his OSS, sword flashing around, sparking against the doppelganger's repeatedly before the ability ended and the doppelganger removed Eugene's legs.

Before the doppelganger could finish him, Michael appeared, slashing diagonally, downward to the left. Then, he slashed hirizontally right at the abdomen. Next, he slashed diagonally up to the left then flipped the sword around and slashed back downward. Next, he brought his sword up and slashed diagonally downward to the left again. He spun, slashing in a circle then again, ending by transferring the slash into an overhead arc, ending at his side. Then, he stepped forward, stabbing at the doppelganger. The doppelganger, having successfully blocked every attack so far, blocked the stab but jumped backward.

Michael accessed his menu, turning off recording. A moment later an alert appeared and he laughed, typing something and pressing enter. Then, he leapt backward as his doppelganger slashed at him. He pulled out a healing crystal and hurled it at Eugene, the crystal shattering on him and healing him, allowing him to escape. Eugene landed beside Michael and glanced at him as Michael adjusted a collor wheel.

"Tell me you didn't just do what I think you did," Eugene growled.

Michael settled on a forest green and selected it, flashing Eugene a grin.

"Ten hits," Michael stated. "Don't worry. It's for Archon."

Eugene groaned then looked back at the Doppelgangers.

"What do we do about them?" Eugene asked.

"Not sure," Michael admitted.

Just then, Eugene's doppelganger sprinted forward, sword glowing and began to slash at Michael. After three strikes, Michael swore and activated his new one. His sword crashed into the doppelganger's and both were nearly thrown backward. Both barely managed to hang onto it but before either could recover, Eugene stepped forward, slashing his doppelganger up the front then beheaded it. It shattered and Michael turned to his doppelganger.

"They can copy our moves," Michael stated. "Which means he might have copied..."

"That would be exceedingly unfortunate," Eugene stated. "So, how do we go about this?"

"We'll have to be careful," Michael stated. "You go first and I'll try and hit him with my OSS.

Eugene nodded, sprinting forward and stabbing at him. The doppelganger slashed the sword aside and stabbed at Eugene. Eugene blocked it thenshoved it aside and began his OSS. The Doppelganger began to easily deflect each attack. The moment Eugene's skill ended, Michael attacked with his own OSS. The doppelganger spun, blocking the blade and launching it skyward. Michael instantly drew his knives, darting forward, both blades glowing blue. He slashed, the trail from the blades forming an "X" across the doppelganger's chest before he slipped past the doppelganger. The doppelganger staggered backward and Michael spun, catching his swords as his knives sailed into the air and stabbed the doppelganger through the base of the skull. It shattered and Michael sighed, stabbing his sword into the ground and catching his knives, putting them away.

"I recognize that style," Eugene stated.

"My options were limited," Michael stated.

Eugene nodded just as firest lit all around the room.

"Oh God no," Michael groaned.

There was a shadow in the center of the room where the light couldn't quite reach and it began to darken as they watched it. Michael picked his sword up, swallowing hard. Eugene held his own sword at the ready as a massive black hand rose out of the darkness and slammed down off to one side. Then, another rose out, slamming down on the other side and pushing a massive creature out of the shadow. It had a humanoid torso but with excessively large muscles. Its head, however, was reptillian with glowing red eyes.

"That thing's...enormous," Michael breathed.

"Yep, let's go," Eugene nodded, sprinting forward.

He leapt into the air and slashed upward along the creature, splitting it up the front. Michael followed, slashing it across the stomach. It roared and swiped at Eugene, launching him across the room despite missing. Michael leapt at the thing again but it swung its hand down, smashing it down on top of Michael.

Michael groaned as the creature left its hand. He looked up at it, seeing a red flash against the creature's back. Then, the creature spun, arm crashing into Eugene and launching him. Michael pushed himself up, his health slowly regenerating but not nearly as fast as he would like. He had barely more than a sliver, but thankfully, Eugene was still able to get up. Because the creature had four full health bars. Michael pulled out a healing crystal and it shattered. He glowed for a moment as his life climbed to yellow.

"Guess that'll have to do," Michael growled charging at the creature as it attacked Eugene.

Michael lunged forward, stabbing the creature then ripped his sword upward before spinning and slashing it again. The creature roared then fell forward, nearly crushing Michael. Michael rolled out of the way then spun, sprinting to the head and activating his OSS. The creature was unable to move so Michael's blade carved into it ten times. Michael's body froze after the skill ended and the creature began to sit up. Finally, the lag ended and Michael wrenched his sword out, slashing again. The creature roared, realing back, two full health bars gone from Michael's ability thanks to the head being the weak point.

The creature swung at Michael and he leapt over it. As soon as he cleared it, a wall of tailwind blasted into him, hurling him across the room, leaving him with barely a sliver again. Eugene leapt at the creature, slashing it and beginning his OSS. Just as he moved to use the last strike to end the fight, the creature's hand crashed into him, blasting him into the floor as Michael pushed himself up, barely able to stand. As the dust settled, it revealed a ball kf red fire where Eugene had landed. Michael sighed, limping toward the creature as it turned on him.

"Well come on then," Michael growled.

He leaned forward until he began to fall, using it to sprint forward. The creature raised a hand swiping down at him. Just before it hit, Michael activated a skill, blurring forward with his sword glowing blue. He blasted through the creature, the skill ending just after it and allowing him to collapse to the ground as the creature remained motionless behind him. Finally, it began to glow, then shattered and the word "CONGRADULATIONS" appeared over them. Michael used an item to revive Eugene then another to heal himself and stood, an alert appearing in front of him. He took the three items it granted him and equipped them. One was a black cuiraiss and pauldrons, another was a forest green kite shield with a Sylph symbol on the face, and the last was a tattered black cloak. With them on, his stats were boosted considerably, but were still inferior to Eugene's.

"That's all you got?" Eugene asked. "There was supposed to be a rare item."

"Sorry," Michael shrugged.

"Whatever," Eugene sighed. "I still got a fair amount of EXP for it. Didn't you have somewhere to be?"

"Oh yeah," Michael remembered. "Thanks. See you around."

"Tell your girlfriend I said hi," Eugene called after him, laughing when Michael flipped him off.

"Not my girlfriend!" Michael shouted as he left the room, sprinting out of the dungeon then teleporting to Alrun, going to an inn to save and sign out.

* * *

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	30. Chapter 30

I do not own Seord Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Target

Michael stepped through the door, rifle sweeping the corridor. He could feel his hands trembling already. Be gripped his rifle tighter, forcing his hands to be still. Sinon followed, machine pistol in hand. The dungeon was an ancient ruin, dark and creepy, just as it should be. As they progressed through the dungeon, not a single monster crossed their path.

"Are monsters rare or something?" Michael asked.

"Not really," Sinon said. "But I understand why you ask. I would have expected to meet something by now."

Just as she said this, a massive boar easilly the size of a tanks skidded around the corner, eyes glowing red. Michael spun, firing two shot. The blasts lit up the tunnel as they flew and crashed into the creature. It shrieked in rage, charging at them. Michael fired a series of rapid shots, most hitting around the boar but a few hitting him. Finally Michael drew his knife, hurling it and hitting the boar in the eye. The boar collapsed, not dead but on the verge of it. Michael raised his rifle and fired again, destroying the over-sized pig.

Then, Michael continued walking, Sinon following. They followed the passageway until they came to a large dark room. Just as they reached the center, enormous baylts began to swarm around them. Michael fired repeatedly, each shot finding its mark. Unfortunately, the bats were as strong as the boar and didn't die easily. Michael hurled his knife to one side, killing a bat. He continued firing but stopped after a moment, reslinging his rifle and summoning a new knife. He began to hurl them as fast as he could, dropping bats right and left. Finally he killed the last one and pulled his rifle off again.

"Gotta say, you're pretty handy with that knife," Sinon stated. "So, you wanna take a brake or keep going?"

"I'm good if you are," Michael stated.

Sinon nodded and turned to walk to the next door just as a bat swooped down, grabbing her and flying into the air. Michael raised his rifle but couldn't get a good shot. He dropped his rifle, drawing his knife and sprinting after the bat. It flew at the wall, swerving at the last second and nearly slamming Sinon into a wall. She screamed as the bat flew down at the ground. Michael skidded to a stop, swearing as the bat flew at him. He raised the knife but the bat crashed into him, throwing him. He landed hard, a fair chunk of health gone. He pushed himself up, groaning and looked up at the bat.

"Michael!" Sinon shouted as it nearly slammed her into the wall again.

"Hang on Sinon!" Michael called picking up his knife. "I'm on my way."

He sprinted forward again. The bat once again flew down and at him. This time, he leapt into the air. The bat crashed into him and he drove his knife into its head. It exploded and Michael and Sinon bounced and rolled along the ground before finally stopping. Michael pushed himself up, sighing. He looked over at Sinon and she groaned, pushing herself onto her knees.

"Thanks," Sinon sighed, smiling over at him. "That could have been a little messy."

Michael smiled and stood, picking up his rifle. They continued into the ruin and soon came to a long hallway with a large open doorway on the far end. Michael began to walk down the hallway and suddenly, a massive lizard exploded out of one wall. Its tail swept around, smashing both of them away. Michael slid along the floor for a moment and Sinon crashed into a wall. Michael growled, pulling up his rifle and aiming at the lizard. It roared, a glowing red eye visible inside. He narrowed hi eyes, the green circle shrinking until its entirety was inside the boundary of the eye. Michael fired and the shot , blasting through the lizard. It shrieked in pain and Michael fired again, a second shot punching through the eye. Then, the lizard exploded.

Michael sighed and walked over to Sinon. She was unconscious, something Michael hadn't even realized was possible, and was whimpering.

"No," Sinon breathed. "No...no..."

"Sinon," Michael said gently shaking her.

She stirred, groaning and looking around.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Sinon nodded, but he could tell she was shaken by something. "Thank you. We should go."

He nodded and they walked to the door. On the other side, they found themselves in a massive chamber with only broken pillars for decoration, along with a massive armored creature the size of several houses.

"It's huge," Michael said drawing his rifle as Sinon looked around.

"I'm going to go find a sniping position," Sinon stated.

"I'll keep it busy down here," Michael said.

Sinon nodded and turned, sprinting along the wall. Michael opened fire, drawing the massive creature's attention. It roared, lunching at him through a pillar. Michael dove out of the way and the pillar crashed down, filling the area with dust. Michael turned toward the creature as a massive red beam fired out of its tail. He dove aside and the beam blasted the ground. He rolled to a knee, openning fire again, aiming for its head. One of the blasts hit the creature in the eye and it roared. A moment later, a third eye opened in its forehead. Michael shot it and it reared back, roaring. It stomped, the force sending out a concussion that hurled Michael away. Just as it turned toward Michael, a sniper bullet hit it in the head, sparks flying off the armor plate.

The creature roared in rage, turning toward Sinon. Another bullet hit it, this time in the eye and it roared again. Michael hurled his knife and fired several shots at the thing and it swept its tail along the ground, only narrowly missing Michael. He dove to the ground under the tail then stood, firing at it again. Its tail swept by again and smashed him away. He stood, groaning as Sinon shot it again. He began to run around the creature, shooting it. It roared, trying to stomp on him. As it did, Sinon continued to empty her magazines at it. Finally, the creature collapsed. Michael drew his knife, sprinting at the head and leaping to the eye, slashing it. The creature roared, tail sweeping around and smashing him away. He slammed into the wall then dove behind a pillar, avoiding a laser blast. Sinon shot the creature again and it turned, trying to shoot her but only able to hit just below the ledge where she was sniping from. Michael had to admit, she had chosen a good spot.

"So, remind me, what exactly am I here for?" Michael asked, stepping out of cover and shooting the creature then stepping back in as a laser shot past.

"You got me here," Sinon stated. "Plus, I wanted to talk to you. If neither of us dies here, you have to tell me why you refuse to use live ammo weapons."

"We'll see," Michael said as a sniper bullet crashed into the creature along with his next shot and his knife.

He sprinted out of cover, drawing its attention away from Sinon and firing at it. Finally, h3 dove behind cover and Sinon shot it again. It turned toward her, charging a shot. However, just before it fired, she shot the eye nd the creature's blast hit a pillar, dropping it on the creature.

"I only have two shots left," Sinon stated.

"I have one," Michael stated. "My rifle's dead."

He stepped out, firing at the creater. Unfortunately, the blast streaked past the eye, missing completely.

"Son of a bitch!" Michael swore slinging his rifle and drawing his knife.

Sinon fired, hitting the creature in the eye and Michael stepped out, hurling his knife. The knife hit the creature in the side of the neck and it began to glow. Then, jt shattered, and Michael got an alert box with his rewards: a new Optical Rifle with a barrier effectiveness reduction special ability, and a sniper rifle.

"Go figure," Michael chuckled, remembering discussing wanting an Optical Rifle immune to barriers with Sinon. "An Optical Rifle with only a quarter damage blocked by barriers."

"Did you get a sniper rifle?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah," Michael said.

"On my way," Sinon said.

A minute later, she walked over and he sent her the sniper while equipping the rifle. It looked the same as his current one but with green lights and sights. Sinon equipped the sniper and stared at it.

"PMG Ultima Ratio Hecate II," Sinon muttered. "This is it."

"What are you going to do with the old one?" Michael asked.

"I was going to sell it, why?" Sinon asked.

"Mind if I take it?" Michael asked.

"Oh, um, alright," Sinon shrugged, sending it to him. "Why the change of heart?"

"It's a...long story," Michael said. "I'm hoping using it will be good for me."

Sinon shrugged and turned to leave. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Shall we go?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "So, what was the real reason you brought me along?"

Sinon began to walk and he followed grinning.

"I happen to consider you a friend and wanted to hang out," Sinon said. "And I wanted to know why your hands shake when you hold a gun."

Michael winced, gripping his right hand with his left.

"So you noticed huh?" Michael asked. "It's for the same reason I dislike live ammo guns. But, I'm sorry. I can't talk abot it."

Sinon nodded, smiling at him.

"It's alright," Sinon said. "I understand. I'd be a hypocrite if I made you tell."

"How?" Michael asked.

"It's...a long story," Sinon said.

"Alright," Michael smiled. "I won't force you. I understand. So, how do we get out of here?"

They had arrived at a cross-road with four paths, not counting the one they cane along.

"I have no idea," Inon stated.

"Alright," Michael shrugged walking down the path on the right.

"Wait, what if that's the wrong path?" Sinon asked.

"Then there might be some loot," Michael grinned back at her.

She laughed and together they made their way down the tunnel.

* * *

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	31. Chapter 31

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Turning Tables

Michael glanced up as Ginrou scooted closer to Sinon.

"So Sinocchi," Ginrou spoke up, grinning. "You free after this? I found a gun shop with a great selection. While we're at it, how about going for tea? What do you think."

Though he was talking to Sinon surprisingly politely, at least for him, his eyes continuously shifted between her upper legs and her cleavage. And Sinon knew it.

"Sorry Ginrou," Sinon apolovized, sounding extremely sincere and even a little sympathetic. "I've got some stuff to take care of in the real world today."

"I see," Ginrou grinned. "Are you a student in real life, Sinocchi? Got a report to turn in?"

"Yes, well..." Sinon trailed off, not wanting to talk about real life.

"It's not very polite to ask other players about real life, especially when you don't know them very well," Michael stated, cating a smile on Sinon's face before she pulled her scarf up, covering her mouth.

"He's right," Dyne stated.

"Shut up!" Ginrou snapped. "Why is Michael the only one that gets to hang out with Sinocchi? Are you friends IRL or something?"

"There you go with those questions again," Michael sighed.

"Don't mind him," one of the others snickered. "He's just mad because he's a lonely solo player in both worlds."

"Hey none of you have gotten lucky yourselves in years," Ginrou snapped, then froze as the barrel of an Optical Rifle touched the side of his head.

"You know, I've always wondered if a barrier would work at point blank range," Michael stated. "It could be pretty interesting to find out."

"What the fuck's your problem?" Ginrou demanded.

"Because you clearly don't understand, I'm going to explain it to you very politely," Michael stated. "Sinon clearly wants nothing to do with you, she's just too polite to say it. Aside from that, it's probably extremely creepy to have a guy like you talking about getting lucky with you when you didn't even agree to go on a date. So, I'm going to do us all a favor and lay down one ground rule. Stay away from Sinon. She's not a trophy, and she's not interested. If not, you may find yourself on the wrong end of my sights again, except that next time, it may be a bit more...messy."

Ginrou gulped and backed away. Michael kept his rifle trained on Ginrou as one of the others

Players reported that he could see their target, the same group of players they had taken down before, but with an extra.

"Me and Sinon will snipe them," Michael said. "You all go get in position."

Dyne nodded and they all left. A moment later, Sinon called them on her communicator.

"I'm getting a bad feeling from the guy in cloak," Sinon stated.

"The one with the minimi should be your first target, it's the biggest threat," Dyne stated. "The other one is probably just a pack mule."

"I can't explain why, but I think the guy in the cloak should be first," Sinon said.

"No," Dyne stated. "That Minimi could be a real problem if we don't take it down fast. Start there."

"Alright," Sinon sighed.

Michael equipped his sniper rifle and set it down, setting his Optical Rifle beside him.

"I'll handle the Minimi," Michael said, fully agreeing with Sinon. "You take out the guy with the cloak. Even if I miss, you can still drop the other guy your second shot."

Sinon nodded and relayed the plan to Dyne, who accepted it. Sinon sighted in on the guy with the cloak and Michael sighted in on the player with the machine gun.

"Almost in position," Sinon said.

Michael gripped his rifle tighter, other hand clenching on the buttstock. Sinon glanced over at him, worried.

"You okay?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded.

Sinon turned back to her scope and Michael swallowed, finding it hard to make it go down. Images flashed in his sight. Fire in a skyscraper's window. His aiming circle was expanding and shrinking rapidly. Blood splattered across Michael's face. He recoiled from the rifle, wiping his face but his face was dry. Clean. It wasn't real. He ignored Sinon's questioning look and sighted in again, his circle now shrinking and expanding once each within a second. His heart poinded in his ears, his sight began to grow fuzzy, the circle speeding up until it was shrinking and growing several times a second. He felt sweat on his palms and his back. He tried to breath but it came out in ragged gasps.

He rolled to his side, gasping for breath and holding his hands over his eyes, trying to shut out the images.

"Are you okay?" Sinon asked.

"No," Michael said honestly. "Not at all. I won't be able to shoot more than once. And I'm not going to be able to aim for long. Let me know when they're in position."

Sinon looked through her scope and then back at him.

"They're in position," Sinon said.

"Three," Michael breathed, closing his eyes. "Two." He opened his eyes again, forcing his heart rate back down. "One."

In one movement, he rolled over, shouldering the rifle and sighting in, firing instantly and rolling away from the rifle again. At the same time as he fired, Sinon sighted in aand fired. The two shots flew away from them, streaking through the air. Daniel silently swore. He had closed his eyes as he fired, so the position of the green circle was burned into his mind. It was over the player's left shoulder, not a single spot of it on the player. He had missed.

Sure enough, his bullet streaked over the player's shoulder and blasted into the ground behind him. Sinon's bullet flew straight at the other player's face. But somehow, he moved out of the way. The bullet missed by an inch and blasted the ground. Sinon swung her rifle around, shooting and obliterating the player with the Minimi. The moment the player was destroyed, Dyne's group sprinted forward, opening fire on the other players. Several of them died quickly but the rest took cover, returning fire. Ginrou sprinted forward, firing. Several laser blasts hit his barrier. Then, the player shooting at him died. Michael forced himself to swallow and picked up his Optical Rifle.

Sinon turned her scope back to the player with the cloak. As she did, he threw the cloak off, raising a minigun.

"A minigun!?" Sinon gaped.

"Oh fuck," Michael groaned. "That's why they were so late."

As Sinon watched, the player opened fire, killing Ginrou instantly. Sinon stood and Michael did the same, picking up the sniper rifle, putting it in his inventory. The two of them sprinted along the trail, running toward Dyne. As they ran, a massive red wall surrounded them. Sinon leapt into the air, flipping over the red lines and Michael dropped. He barely managed to get below the kill zone and bullets began to fly between him and Sinon, barely missing them. It sropped as Michael slid into cover to one side of Dyne and Sinon landed and rolled into cover on his other side. The other two were also present.

"We're going to die!" Dyne said, clearly panicking.

"Then die!" Michael snapped, nerves still shot after his episode with the sniper rifle. "It's a fucking game you goddamn pussy! You'll just fucking reset! If you can't handle this, stay down and get shown up by a girl, cause I know Sinon is going to try and kill this mother fucker. It's kinda sad that she has more balls than you."

And with that, he grabbed one of the other players by they shirt and sprinted out of cover, taking the player and hurling him behind the next bit of cover. As he ran after him, he hurled his knife at the player with the minigun. The player leaned out of the way, the knife knicking his ear. He dove behind cover, avoiding a wall of lead, and looked to the other player.

"You run to the next cover and I'll shoot him before he hits you," Michael said.

"And if he has a barrier?" The player asked.

"He can only take so much damage before the barrier breaks, and he'll turn to me anyway, at which point, you shoot him directly," Michael stated.

The player nodded, turning and sprinting away. Bullets began to fly around him and Michael rolled, firing at the minigun wielder. He ignored Michael complety, continuing to fire at the other player. The player got within a fot of cover when he was finally turned into swiss cheese. Then, the minigun wielder turned on Michael who sprinted away. Just as the minigun wielder was about to fire, Sinon did. Michael had been watching the minigun wielder, so he was able to see the single most impressive feat in his life. At less than two hundred meters, the player was able to dodge a second shot. This time, it blasted the glasses he had been wearing, but he was not harmed.

Michael dove behind cover as Sinon ran, a trail of bullets following her. Michael stepped out of cover, hurling his knife and hitting the player in the shoulder. The player began to turn and the other player with them began to shoot at the minigun player as Dyne charged the two remaining Optical Rifle users he had been fighting. His barrier shattered as he charged, but just as he died, he hurled a grenade. The grenade killed both and left only the minigunner, who had also destroyed the player trying to kill him.

"Just the two of us," Michael said over the communicator. "I'll draw his fire, close range, like I do best. You do what you do best and get some distance."

"Okay," Sinon agreed.

Michael stepped out of cover and into a field of red. He swore and dove into a role, barely making it out of the way before the ground around him exploded in a hail of bullets. He kept running, hurling his knife as he did but missed. The red field followed him, mowing down everything. Michael took a couple quick shots with his Optical Rifle but they did barely anything. Finally, michael dove behind a wall then lay flat on the ground as rounds began to punch clean through. Miraculously, the bullets stopped before hitting him and he lay there, panting. He slowly pushed himself up, looking through a hole as the player began to shoot up at a building.

Michael stood, looking to see Sinon over the trail of bullets, flipping and spinning through the air, one leg taken off just above the knee. The player began to pull his minigun up, struggling to rais it enough to catch Sinon as Sinon fell, moving toward him as she did. Michael did some quick match and figured out where she would land, on the player. Just as she neared him, she pulled her rifle up and grinned, squeezing off one shot. Her barrel having been withing a foot from his face left no room to avoid it a third time. The bullet went into his face and exited his right knee. The force of the recoil was enough to push Sinon upward, breaking her descent and giving Michael just enough time to dive and catch her, sliding along the ground as the plYer exploded into data shards.

"That was fucking amazing," Michael stated.

"Thanks," Sinon sighed, exhausted from adrenaline and breathing hard, lying on his chest. "That was definitely not how I saw this playing out though."

"Agreed," Michael snorted, also breathing hard but more exhausted from his earlier episode than from adrenaline.

"Now that we have time," Sinon said, pushing herslf up, "what the hell happened back there?"

Michael stared at her a second before turning his head to the side, no longer seeing her or anything around them.

"A memory," Michael stated. "A nightmare."

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	32. Chapter 32

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

My Nightmare

Fire flashed in the distance. By the time the first report reached his ears, blood had already splattered across his face. The flames flashed twice more, the reports once again coming only after the damage was done. Blood splattered on the floor, then across his chest. Screams finally rang out. All around people ran for cover. Vehicles screached to a stop. People abandoned them in the street. A police officer ran toward him, trying to get him away from the scene. Another flash of fire. The officer dropped.

Michael watched as blood ran out of the gapin hole that had been the left side of the officer's face. Then, he looked down. His body was coated in blood. In front of him lay his mother, the right side of her head removed by the first shot. On top of her was his father, who had been shot on his knees as he tried to save his wife. His blood now stained the ground and Michael's feet. Across both lay Michael's older brother, who had shielded Michael from the third shot. Michael looked around and saw his younger sister staring at their parents, too shocked to cry. Michael hurried over, taking her hand and running away as fast as his small legs could carry them.

* * *

"I was eight then," Michael said, looking up at Sinon, who wore an expression of shock, horror, and sympathy. "My sister was only four. The cops told me that the shooter was ex military, that he had snapped and started killing at random. But when it's only your family and the police officer who was trying to help that die, it sure doesn't feel like random. We were taken in by an orphanage. We refused several adoptions in which we would be separated. We were given a few years of free counciling until we hit fifteen, then our councilor decided to continue the free meetings for our sakes.

"We went through high school, then I got a job and an appartment for us," Michael said. I tried to raise my sister as well as I could. Then, one day, my sister came home with a new game and the system for it. She had been saving for it and was really excited to play. She logged on, and that was the last time I was able to talk to her."

"She bought Sword Art Online," Sinon gasped, covering her mouth.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "She logged onto Sword Art Online with the other ten thousand. And when she didn't wake up for dinner, I nearly turned it off. Fortunately, I had the news on and they warned the general populace to stop in time. I got her to the hospital and watched for a year and a half as my only surviving family member whithered away. Then, one day, a representative from the government tracked me down and gave me a way to save her. I could go into the game. I had the option to risk my life for my family or to go to prison. Naturally, I went after my family."

"Wait, why prison?" Sinon asked.

"I'm a hacker. And a good one. I was chosen both because the government wanted me to know they knew about me, and because they knew I could hack my way through SAO. And I did. For six months, I fought and hacked my way up the ranks to one of the strongest players, meeting several friends along the way. Then, one day, I joined in my first floor boss raid. I had fought a couple of bosses before, and one player that thought he was a boss, but had never battled a floor boss. It was definitely the hardest thing I did in Sword Art Online, bar one thing.

"The fight lasted hours," Michael stated. "We lost almost all of the clearers in that fight. And then, as though that wasn't bad enough, it came to light immediately afterward that the strongest player in the game, the one we all respected and looked up to was the final boss and the creator, Akihiko Kayaba. He agreed to fight me and Kirito, the second strongest player. Before we did, I asked about my sister."

"And?" Sinon asked.

"Remember how I said there was one thing harder than fighting the Skull Reaper?" Michael asked. "Well, that was learning that my sister was gone. We fought and eventually defeated Kayaba, then woke up. Most of us. During rehab, I continued my therapy, now also needing it for the loss of my sister. I eventually started playing a game called ALfheim Online because I wanted an escape from my past, and I found it in that game, in magic and swords, and flying. Then I learned that Kirito's girlfriend and in-game wife, another of my friends named Asuna was being held there against her will by the company running it. Kirito logged on and we worked with another player, who turned out to be his sister, to save her. Once we had, the game was shut down.

"A program Kayaba had left for Kirito to find, called the Seed, was stored in one of our friends computers and grew into the virtual world we know now. The mass of connected games and servers, all exist through the Seed. I heard about Gun Gale Online a little while later and my therapist and I agreed that it may help me get over my past. So I logged on. And I met you. And so far, it has not helped. If anything, it's gotten worse."

"So why continue?" Sinon asked.

"Partially in hopes that it will help eventually," Michael said. "Partially to hang out with you."

Sinon blinked then smiled and pulled her scarf up.

"I'm sorry," Sinon said. "I can't imagine what you must have gone through. But...I have a pretty good idea."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"I..." she trailed off, staring at the ground.

"You don't have to talk about it," Michael said.

"It's alright," Sinon said. "Fair's fair. When I was ten, a man tried to rob us at a post office. He shot one person, then turned the gun on my mother. I...I defended her."

Sinon squeezed her eyes shut against the memories. Michael sat up, hugging her and allowing her to cry into his shoulder. He ran his hand gently over her hair fomfortingly, and it seemed to help a little. She stopped after a bit and continued her story.

"I made him drop the gun and picked it up," Sinon said, still sounding like she might start crying again soon. "He tried to take it from me and I accidentally shot him. He tried to take it again so I shot him again. He tried to get up, and, I was so scared. I...I shot him again, this time in the head. There was...there was so much...blood."

She began to shake and her breathing began to grow ragged so Michael pulled her into another hug, shushing her.

"It's over," Michael said. "It's alright now. You're safe."

She nodded but remained in his arms, trembling slightly but a little more calm. Michael continued to gently run his hand over her head and she slowly grew more relaxed as he did. Finally, she stood, her leg having regenerated with her health long ago. Michael stood as well and she smiled, taking his hand.

"Come on," Sinon smiled, wiping her eyes. "We should get back to the city. I still have some stuff to take care of IRL."

"So that wasn't just you turning Ginrou down?" Michael smirked as they walked.

"Not really," Sinon laughed. "I wasn't going to accept even if it wasn't true but still. Thank you, by the way. For sticking up for me, I mean. It meant a lot. Even though I didn't say anything at the time."

"Of course," Michael smiled.

They walked in silence for a bit until they reached the gate. Michael released Sinon's hand and she hugged him one last time before logging out. He logged out as well and looked at the clock. Eight p.m. He logged onto ALfheim Online and headed over to Agil's bar, where he found Kirito's gang hanging out.

"Hey, look who showed up," Klein grinned. "You missed a boss raid today. Where were ya? Girlfriend?"

Michael couldn't help but grin, and sat at the bar silently.

"You alright?" Kirito asked.

"Bottle of the strongest drink you have," Michael said.

Kirito blinked in surprise as Agil handed it to him and Michael began to drink straight from the bottle.

"I'll take that as a no," Kirito said. "I haven't seen you drink...ever. What's up?"

"Long day," Michael said. "I feel like getting drunk but don't want a hangover."

"Anything in particular happen?" Kirito asked.

"Nothing you would understand," Michael said. "You understand pain, fear, even guilt, sure. After SAO, how could you not? That business with Laughing Coffin hit you hard, I remember seeing it in your eyes afterward. But you still wouldn't understand."

Kirito nodded and left to talk to Asuna, leaving Michael to drink in peace. Finally, he sighed, logging out and going to bed. This time, God showed him some mercy, and allowed him a dreamless sleep, an a bit of rest.

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	33. Chapter 33

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Bar Fight

Michael sat at the bar, yawning and watching the screen. A player named XeXeeD was talking about how great it was to be an STR-AGI player and several players around the bar were complaining that he had been their reason for going full AGI. Just as XeXeeD finished a rant about the balance of MMOs always changing, a player in a black cloak with dark armor underneath strode out of the corner he had been occupying. He drew a pistol as he walked and aimed it at the screen, which was displaying a close-up of XeXeeD's face.

"You're nothing but a fake XeXeeD," the player shouted. "And now, you'll face judgement from someone with real power."

Michael narrowed his eyes at the player. Who was this guy? Real power? Judgement? Several people around the room began to laugh. Michael watched as the player moved his free hand in a cross in front of himself then fired, placing a bullet between the image of XeXeeD's eye's. People fell silent again.

"All I'm saying is," XeXeeD continued. "What's really important is the player's ability to-"

And then he began to choke. Everyone who had been about to start laughing again turned back to the screen, staring in shock and confusion, Michael doing the same. On screen, XeXeeD clutched his chest, trying to breath, before collapsing and being disconnected.

"Impossible," Michael breathed turning back to the player as he began to point the gun around.

"This is real power, real strength," the player declared, turning toward Michael, allowing him to see the skull mask and glowing red eyes as he pointed the pistol at the ceiling. "Let your fear carve one name into your brains. The name I share with this weapon. Death Gun!"

Then, he leaned back as Michael passed in front of him, slashing as he passed but missing. Death Gun brought the pistol down, smashing it into the back of Michael's hand, forcing him to drop the knife. Then, the bottom of his foot slammed into the side of Michael's head, blasting him into column in the center of the room that the terminals were mounted to. Michael slid to the ground, looking up at the player as he aimed at him.

"Michael," Death Gun sneered. "So good to see you again."

"How do you..." he trailed off, summoning a new knife and lunging at the player.

He spun past a kick and slashed at the player. The player blocked it with the pistol and shoved the knife aside then slammed his knee into Michael's stomach. The impact lifted Michael into the air and then Death Gun jumped and spun, kicking Michael in the face, launching him backward. Michael flipped backward twice then crashed into the column hard enough to crack it. The lights began to flicker and Michael looked up as Death Gun began to laugh. The lights went out, Death Gun's eyes being the only thing visible. Then, they faded as well. A moment later, the lights came on, revealing Death Gun had disappeared. Michael sprinted out of the bar, drawing his rifle and aimed down the street. Nothing. He spun the other way. Also empty. He looked up. Nothing. Death Gun was gone.

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	34. Chapter 34

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Welcome

Michael stepped out of the crowd, smiling as he spotted Sinon waiting for him at the bar. He sat down and she smiled at him.

"You're early," Michael grinned. "Excited for BoB?"

"Mhm," she smiled. "Ready to go sign up?"

Michael nodded and they stepped outside just as a scream rang out. Michael looked to Sinon and she shrugged.

"Mugging is possible," Sinon said. "And once in a while someone just gets scared."

Michael shrugged and they started walking. They soon left the more populated areas in favor of a short cut. After a bit, they neared the same gun shop that Sinon had taken Michael to when he arrived.

"Excuse me!" a female voice behind them called. "Could you...Michael?"

Michael turned around, seeing a girl with long, straight black hair, a white jacket with black stripes down the outside of the sleeves and down the zipper, black pants, ane black shoes. They looked familiar, though Michael couldn't quite place them. He cocked his head and immagined the person holding a sword, thinking maybe he knew them from a different game. And it clicked.

"K...Kirito?" Michael gaped before bursting out laughing, clutching his sides, then falling over when he saw Kirito blushing profusely. "You're using...the M9000!"

Michael continued to laugh for several seconds before managing to control himself and pushing himself up.

"At least now we know what the scream was," Michael laughed. "Sinon, allow me to introduce Kirito, the best sword fighter alive. Kirito, this is Sinon. She taught me how to play this game and got me into a group as well. Oh, and she knows we're SAO survivors."

Kirito nodded then grinned wickedly.

"Don't you dare," Michael snarled.

"You're sinon huh?" Kirito asked. "Michael never stops talking about you."

"You bastard," Michael snarled.

"Oh really?" Sinon asked, sharing Kirito's grin. "And what's he say?"

"He's full of shit," Michael stated.

"How pretty you are, and how much he enjoys being around you, and how he can't wait to get back here to hang out with you," Kirito listed, grinning at Michael.

Sinon blinked in surprise, face turning red, almost matching Michael's.

"That's it, you're dead," Michael growled lunging at Kirito who easily got out of the way.

Before Michael could lunge again, a speaker system announced that BoB sign-up was nearing an end. He groaned and looked to Kirito.

"Let me guess," Michael sighed. "You're here about Death Gun?"

Kirito nodded and Michael sighed.

"Alright, let's go get you some guns and armor," Michael sighed.

Kirito nodded and they went over to the market, where they began to look around for anything Michael thought Kirito would excel at.

"You have no money do you?" Michael asked, suddenly remembering he was broke when he started.

"Um, one thousand credits," Kirito said.

"Thought so," Michael nodded looking around and seeing a game involving you trying to charge a mechanical cowboy armed with a revolver.

No one could react fast enough to reach them though. Michael grinned and pushed Kirito toward it.

"You got this," Michael grinned.

Kirito saw what it was and nodded. Before he could go, another player did. The player sprinted forward then froze in an odd position as the robot raised its pistol. Michael stifled a laugh at the position and Sinon grinned.

"What's he doing?" Kirito asked.

"Bullet prediction lines," Michael said. "Red lines that show where a bullet with go. Only the player can see them though, so some people look really stupid. There's really not enough room to manuever or you could just go around the lines."

Finally the player was blasted, lying on the ground for a minute before standing and walking away from the game. Kirito walked over and basically everyone in the room laughed. The gate opened and Kirito sprinted forward. The robot raised its gun and Kirito dropped to the ground, sliding under the bullets. He slid to his feet and continued to run. The robot reloaded and fired again. Kirito jumped to the side, narrowpy avoiding the bullets. He continued and slid under a third spray of bullets. Just as he stood, the robot's gun glowed blue. Michael doubted anyone had gotten far enough to know what was about to happen. Kirito leapt into the air and the robot sprayed the ground in front of himself with bullets. Kirito landed next to the robot, resting a hand on his shoulder. Then, he leapt back and the robot acted upset before massive piles of money flooded out of the building. Kirito accepted it and it disappeared.

"That was...amazing!" Sinon gaped.

"Kirito has the best reaction time out of anyone in the virtual world," Michael stated.

"How did you do that though?" Sinon asked. "At that range, you couldn't have seen the prediction lines."

"Well...I...kind of...predicted them," Kirito sheugged.

"Predicted...the prediction lines?" Sinon asked in confusion.

"Kirito has excellent battle instincts, probably where he gets his reflexes," Michael explained. "He didn't really predict anything, he just instinctively knew to jump."

Sinon nodded and they began to shop for Kirito's main weapon again. As they passed a rack of short metal cylinder-like objects, Michael and Kirito both stopped.

"What are these?" Kirito asked.

"Oh, those are Photon Swords," Sinon stated.

"Why didn't you tell me there were swords?" Michael asked.

"You said bladed," Sinon shrugged.

Michael groaned as Kirito selected one and bought it. A robot sped over and the object appeared over it. Kirito picked it up and extended the blade, a long purple laser blade.

"I'm so jealous I'm not even going to point out that the pretty purple blade matches your avatar," Michael grinned.

"Shut up!" Kirito snapped.

Then, Kirito turned and began to dart around, slashing four times and sending a square of slash trails outward.

"Show off," Michael grumbled.

Kirito shrugged and retracted the blade, clipping it to his belt.

"That might work as your main weapon, but I think you should still get at least a pistol as a backup," Sinon said. "And armor, of course."

"I think I'll let you pick the pistol," Kirito said.

"Good call," Michael snorted. "She knows her shit."

Sinon smiled slightly and walked over to the pistol section, talking herself through several options until she decided on an FN 5.7. Kirito bought it and then followed her to the shooting range in back to test it. While she explained how, Michael took the oportunity to charge his rifle and practice. Unlike last time, he was able to hit the tagret with every shot. He recharged his rifle and Sinon gave him a knowing look.

"What?" Michael asked. "No one said I couldn't."

Sinon laughed and returned to teaching Kirito. He fired once and missed, unsurprisingly.

"I missed," Kirito said.

"Of course," Michael snorted. "First shot using a gun, of course you did. Not to mention she had the target out to the absolute max of it's effective range."

Sinon shrugged and Kirito groaned.

"You'll get used to it," Michael promised. "Now, it's time for you to go shop for woman's clothes."

"What?" Kirito gaped.

"He's right," Sinon grinned. "The M9000 has to wear women's clothes."

Kirito groaned but followed Sinon to the armor section while Michael continued to practice with his weapons. Then, he went out to the market and bought a Photon Sword of his own in case he happened to run into Death Gun up close again. He made sure he bought the version with the red blade, though. He met Kirito and Sinon outside and saw Sinon panicking.

"What's up?" Michael asked.

"We only have ten minutes to get there and sign up," Sinon stated.

Michael looked around and saw a store with vehicles outside, all either a really big silver three-wheeler or a mechanical skeletal horse.

"Hey Kirito," Michael grinned. "Wanna race?"

Kirito saw the rides and nodded, grinning. Kirito jumped on one and Michael helped Sinon climb onto another since they were as tall as ther shoulders. Then, he scrambled up behind her, paying for it while Kirito did the same. Then, they both gunned it, speeding down the road, Sinon safely seated in front of Michael. Michael shifted to a lower gear, speeding past Kirito then shifting to a higher gear again and shooting along the road. Kirito caught up a moment later and waved. After eight minutes, they skidded to a stop outside the Administrative Building, all jumping off and running inside. Sinon briefly explained how to sign up then went to do it herself.

Kirito and Michael both logged onto a terminal and signed up. Michael turned down the chance to recieve rewards via mail based on his ranking. Then, he stepped away from the terminal as Sinon walked over. After a moment, Kirito joined them and they looked around.

"Alright," Sinon sighed. "The changing rooms are over there, and there's a waiting area on the other side. I'll meet you there."

Michael nodded and Sinon walked into the female changing room. Michael and Kirito walked into the male changing room and Kirito kut on his armor, which took literally four presses of a button. Then, they headed into the waiting area. They found Sinon sitting in a corner booth and sat across from her.

"Alright, so, how's this work?" Michael asked.

"The preliminaries are a random one on one match up," Sinon explained. "You get teleported to a random environment where you fight against your opponent. The loser is teleported away, and the victor comes back here. The competitors fight matches until there are thirty players left. The semi finals competitors go to the finals regardless of who wins or loses. The finals are a battle Royale, with all thirty players competing. They fight until only one is left."

Michael nodded and looked up at the screen where a news reported was discussing the different players in the tournament.

"You think he's here?" Kirito asked.

"He's not," Michael said.

"How do you know?" Kirito asked.

"I fought him, or, I tried at least," Michael stated. "He's skilled. Very skilled. I couldn't touch him. He wears a black cloak, a skull mask, and has glowing red eyes. Plus he has both arms bandaged."

"I see," Kirito nodded. "Well, what do you think about him? Can he really kill?"

"In-game, yes," Michael nodded. "In reality from the game...I don't know. He shot a screen showing that player and the player acted like his heart stalled. I think there's more too this."

"Good," Kirito sighed. "Then maybe we're safe."

"I doubt that," Michael sighed. "If anything that puts us in more danger. We may die even without being shot. Though, given his theatrics, I don't think he would allow that."

Kirito nodded and they glanced at Sinon, who looked terrified at the thought of dying.

"Sorry," Michael sighed. "Me and Kirito aren't new to being threatened with death. You are. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Same," Kirito promised.

Just then, Michael's vision flared white.

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	35. Chapter 35

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Preliminaries

When the light faded, Michael looked around, finding himself standing on top of an old aztec-style pyramid. He hated the area already. He was exposed. And there was no one around. He leapt off the pyramid, running down the steps. As he reached the bottom, several red lines reached out of the trees at him. He jumped to the side, firing at the player. A barrier appeared, blocking the shots. The player sprinted out of the trees, laughing, firing at Michael again. Michael began to avoid bullets while firing. The barrier continued to block Michael's shots, but after a few more, the barrier shattered. Then, a fresh one started. Michael growled in annoyance and sprinted into the trees. After about three minutes, he leapt into the air, grabbing a branch and pulling himself up, pulling out his knife while slinging his rifle. The other player slowed to a stop a short distance away. He began to slowly make his way toward Michael, scanning the area along the ground for Michael. Finally, he was under Michael. Michael dropped, driving his knife into his head as he landed. The player dropped dead and Michael's vision flared again.

When Michael could see again, he was back in the waiting area. He looked around but didn't see Kirito or Sinon. He looked up at the screens and his jaw dropped Sinon was in a sniping position, waiting for her target, as he would expect, but Kirito was using his Photon Sword to deflect bullets. He wasn't blocking them all, a few kept scratching him, but he was deflecting most. He was also shooting at the player but was not even coming close to hitting him. Finally, he stabbed the player and the point of impact began to glow, violet energy flying off of the blade. Then, the player Kirito stabbed exploded and Kirito was teleported back.

"You," a familiar distorted voice said from behind Kirito. "With that name and that skill, are you him?"

"What?" Kirito blinked.

"Well, whether you're him or not, it doesn't matter," Death Gun stated, closing the window displaying Kirito's name, allowing Kirito to see the Laughing Coffin tattoo on the inside of his right wrist.

Kirito staggered back a step just as Michael stepped in front of Death Gun, slashing at him. Death Gun leapt back from the blade and grinned, smoke billowing around him before he vanished.

"Was that..." Kirito began but stopped, knowing the answer.

"Death Gun," Michael said.

"He had a Laughing Coffin tattoo," Kirito said.

"Explains his skill," Michael said. "He'll be harder to stop than I thought. You okay?"

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "Just thinking about..."

"The Laughing Coffin raid?" Michael guessed. "That was your first time taking a life wasn't it? I'm not going to lie. I can understand that. It was a bad day. But you did what you had to to save everyone. That's all. That doesn't make you a bad person."

Kirito nodded, smiling slightly.

"Thanks," he smirked.

Michael nodded, turning around as Sinon arrived back at the waiting area.

"He was never here," Michael whispered and Kirito nodded.

Sinon walked over and smiled at Michael.

"How'd you do?" Sinon asked.

Before he could answer, he was transported to his next fight. He was standing in a destroyed city when he was able to see again. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he felt uneasy. He knew why. The destroyed city highly resembled the area where his family died, just after the apocalypse.

Michael began to walk, rifle out. Just before he reached an intersection, he stopped. His instincts were screaming sniper. He put his rifle away and crouched pulling out a small mirror, looking around the corner with it. There was a bridge between two buildings off to one side, exactly where he would expect Sinon to set up with her rifle. He put the mirror away and drew his knife and sprinted up the wall beside him and into a window.

Inside, there was a hole in the floor above him. He leapt up to it, pulling himself up. Then, he ran through the building to a stairwell. He sprinted up the stairs, takkng them two at a time. Finally, he exited it on the bridge's level. He silently crept through the building until he reached the bridge. He peeked out and sure enough, there was his target, armed with a sniper rifle. Michael backed away, then climbed out a window, onto the side of the building then up above the bridge. He climbed down onto the top of the bridge, moving over to where he could drop down behind the sniper. Then, he dropped down with his knife. The sniper didn't move, and didn't know he was there until Michael drove his knife into his skull. Then, he was transported back again.

This time, Sinon and Kirito were waiting.

"What's next?" Michael asked.

"We'll have a little bit of a break before the semi-finals," Sinon said. "That's the next fight. So, no matter what, we'll all be in the finals."

"See you there," Michael smirked. "So, how long do we get?"

"A minute left," Sinon said. "You shouldn't have dragged yours out."

"Figures," Michael sighed. "Well, how'd you do?"

"The usual," Sinon said. "He never knew where I was."

She grinned as they all began to glow.

"Here we go," Sinon grinned. "By the way. Good job with that sniper. You might actually be able to challenge me some day."

Then, they were all teleported away.

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	36. Chapter 36

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Showdown

Michael blinked, looking around, holding his rifle ready. He was interested about who he would face. And he seriously doubted the fight would end with his rifle. Especially given the location. He was on top of what he assumed had once been a metal catwalk between two buildings but the floor below him was gone. The tower on either side was a solid metal wall with the nearest window being too high to climb, run, or jump to. The area was designed for a fight. And boy would it be a good one.

Death Gun dropped out of one of the windows, landing in a crouch opposite Michael. Michael's rifle clattered to the ground and Michael groaned. He picked up the rifle, slinging it, then sprinted forward, leaping and slashing at Death Gun. Death Gun easily backed out of the way then flipped, over, kicking Michael into the ground and crashing down on him. He flipped, kicking Michael to the side then landed lightly, drawing his pistol.

"I won't be able to stop you with that knife will I?" Michael asked, summoning a new knife and putting it away. "Fine then."

He unequipped his rifle and equipped his Photon Sword instead. Death Gun laughed, leaning backward as he did. "Nice sword, but with no shield, you can't possibly beat me."

He sprinted forward and sent a kick at Michael. Michael spun out of the way, slashing at Death Gun. Death Gun smashed the blade skyward with his pistol. Then, his foot crashed into Michael again. Michael flew backward, flipping and landing on his feet, stabbing the sword into the floor to slow himself. He stood and his eyes narrowed at Death Gun. He drew and hurled his knife then charged as Death Gun smashed it away with the pistol.

He stabbed at Death Gun and Death Gun avoided it then kicked Michael, nearly throwing him off. Michael stabbed the ground, flipping under the bridge and catching a metal bar a few inches below the bridge. Then, he flipped up, kicking Death Gun in the back. Death Gun flipped, landing on his feet. Michael summoned a new knife and put it away as Death Gun put away his pistol. He pulled out a sniper rifle and Michael crouched, readying himself. Instead of shooting him, Death Gun twisted the silencer so that the bar below the bareel was exposed. Then, he pulled on the end. A long metal pole that tapered to a point came out and Death Gun slung his rifle after putting the sliencer back into place.

"A sword?" Michael blinked.

"You could call it that," Death Gun smirked.

Michael darted forward, slashing at Death Gun. Death Gun smashed the blade away and began to jab the metal pole at Michael in a series of blurred after-images. The spike tore into Michael's body, leaving gashes and stabs everywhere. Finally, Michael grabbed it and spun, hurling Death Gun across the bridge. Michael chased him, slashing at him as he recovered. The spike swung up, smashing the sword skyward before swinging back around, smashing Michael in the side of the head. Michael slipped sideways, feet slamming into the ground before his legs buckled. He hit hard and Death Gun lunged. Michael rolled to the side, jumping up and slashing upward at Death Gun. Death gun leaned out of the way and Michael charged slashing again.

"You never learn," Death Gun sneered. "Just like before."

Death Gun charged forward, laying almost flat along the ground. He held the spike level with the ground. Michael remembered seeing that fighting style during the raid on Laughing Coffin, which makes sense since Death Gun had a Laughing Coffin tattoo. He couldn't place which had had tbe fighting style, though.

He stepped forward, slashing at Death Gun. Death Gun easily deflected the sword then drove his weapon through Michael's throat, suspending him off the ground as his health dropped rapidly. He looked at Death Gun's mask and saw a flash of a similar mask with red eyes in Sword Art Online on one of Laughing Coffin's leaders. If only he had payed attention to the names.

Finally his health hit red and he closed his eyes, praying that he survived. Then, his avatar exploded. A moment later, he was back in the waiting area. Sinon and Kirito rushed over. Kirito slowed but Sinon did not. She leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him, sobbing. Michael wrapped his arms around her as well, sighing in relief. He looked to Kirito who nodded.

"We were watching," Kirito stated. "Looks like you're safe."

"No," Michael said. "It's just the pistol. That's the key to whatever his plan is. Don't get shot. Then you're safe."

Kirito nodded. Michael looked down at Sinon who was still sobbing into his chest.

"How long until the finals?" Michael asked.

"Th-They're...n-not until t-tomorrow," Sinon stammered, trying to gain control herself.

"Alright," Michael nodded as Sinon buried her face in his chest again. "Come on Sinon. It's alright. I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."

Sinon didn't respond. He sighed, gently stroking her hair. Slowly, she began to calm down until she was only sniffling. He smiled as she looked up at him.

"Feel better?" Michael asked.

"NO!" Sinon snapped. "You almost died! Do you know how terrified I was? I COULD HAVE LOST YOU! ! !"

Michael blinked in surprise and Sinon's face turned beat red. Then, she quickly logged out. Michael blinked in surprise and looked to Kirito who looked equally confused.

"Well, I should log out too," Kirito sighed.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "Me too."

Kirito logged out, raising a hand as he disappeared. Michael logged out after he was gone.

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	37. Chapter 37

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Rest

Michael sat on the couch and his therapist sighed.

"More dreams?" she asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "Worse since I used the rifle. Worse still since I met him."

The therapist nodded and sighed.

"I'm going to have to suggest you stop playing," she stated. "But I know you won't. So I can't help."

"I know," Michael sighed. "I was just...I don't know. Anyway, this is the last time I'll be in for a while. I'm going to finish things in Gun Gale Online. After the tournament ends...I don't know. I guess we'll see. I don't know if I can keep playing without having a mental break."

"I would expect not," she agreed. "It would seem out time is up. I have another client. I'll see you around."

"See ya," Michael smiled.

He walked out the door and passed a girl about his age with short brown hair, brown eyes, glasses, a black skirt, a black jacket over a white shirt and red tie, dark blue knee-high socks, and brown shoes.

He froze, looking back just as she stopped, looking back at him. The moment their eyes met, she spun, disappearing into the room. Michael smirked, walking out of the room and across the road, sitting on a bench and leaning back.

"What a coincidence," Michael smirked. "It's almost time for the tournament. I'm within walking distance, so why are you here...Sinon."

After about five minutes, the girl opened the front door and promptly glared at him. He grinned and she sighed and started walking. He caught up with her, walking beside her.

"You go to the same therapist," Sinon sighed. "Typical."

"I never even thought, but it makes sense you'd go to her too," Michael smirked. "She does seem to have a knack for it."

Sinon sighed, walking in silence. Michael wanted to talk about what had happened but remained silent. After a few minutes, they stopped outside an appartment complex.

"This is me," Sinon sighed. "Will you make it back in time?"

"Of course," Michael smirked. "I'll see you inside."

Sinon nodded and stepped forward, hugging him. He hugged her back, then released her and she went inside. He turned and jogged off down the street and a couple of blocks away to his own house. Then, he logged on and headed to the waiting area with about five minutes to spare. When he arrived, there was a boy with green cammouflage shirt and pants, light armor chest-piece, black combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and straight bale green hair down almost to his shoulders waiting.

"Hey, you're Michael right?" the boy asked. "My name's Spiegel. And I'm only going to say it once. Sinon is mine. Stay away from her. Or you'll be very sorry. A friend of mine knows you."

"That sounds like a threat," Michael stated. "Be careful you don't anger me. I might just have to teach you why that's unwise."

Spiegel glared at him but Michael simply walked past him. Michael walked over, sitting down beside Sinon at the usual corner table. She was shaking slightly and looking around almosylt constantly.

"Hey," Michael smiled. "You okay?"

"Mhm," Sinon nodded.

"Everything's going to be okay," Michael promised. "Kirito and I will handle Death Gun. You just need to worry about the other players. Let us worry about the asshole."

Sinon smiled and nodded, looking at the clock.

"It's time," Sinon stated taking a shaky breath while Michael rested a hand on hers.

"See you in there," Michael smiled.

She smiled as well and Michael's vision flared white.

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	38. Chapter 38

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Final Round

Michael looked around. There was a ruin behind him and a tree line ahead. In the tree line, he could see a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Fuck no!" Michael growled, spinning and printing away.

A bullet crashed into a pillar just ahead of him and he skidded to a stop, turning and looking toward the trees. The owner of the red eyes stepped out but it wasn't Death Gun. It was Archon. He now had a pair of red-lensed goggles that glowed slightly.

"You mother fucker," Michael snarled. "I don't know why I'm surprised you're here. You always had a knack for annoying me."

"Haven't I though?" Archon grinned drawing his machine pistols. "Shall we?"

Michael sighed and drew his knife, readying himself. Archong began to fire and Michael hurled three knives as he dodged the bullets. Archon easily evaded the knives, walking toward Michael as he fired. The moment he began to reload, Michael charged. He finished, beginning to raise the guns again only for Michael to kick one aside and slash at him. Archon spun out of the way and jumped, kicking Michael. Michael began to fly away, flipping through the air. Archon began to fire and Time seemed to slow for Michael. He hurled a knife at the closest bullet and the bullet smashed the knife but was redirected. The pieces of the knife hit other bullets around that one and redirected them. One bullet punched through Michael's left shoulder and the rest missed. Michael bounced and rolled along the ground until he reached the edge of a river and pulled himself up.

"I'm impressed," Archon commended as Michael drew his rifle, aiming at him and firing, the laser hitting his barrier near-harmlessly. "You have some real skill. But now, you die."

Then, he opened fire. Michael took a step left, hurling his knife before bullets slammed into his right shoulder, launching him off the cliff. The last thing he saw of Archon was the knife hitting him in the shoulder.

Michael plummeted into the water below, nearly losing consciousness on impact. He swam to the surface, breathing then went back under, swimming away with the current. He broke surface only long enough to breathe, otherwise trying to stay under. He finally pulled himself out of the water and pulled out the item that allowed them to see each other's position.

"A thousand meter initial dispersion my ass," Michael snarled, touching all of the player markers and noticing one less than a hundred meters from him.

He put the item away and sprinted through the trees, slowing to a walk as he neared her. Then, he stepped out of the trees less than two meters from her. She spun, drawing her automatic pistol and aiming at him. He stopped, raising his hands and she sighed lowering it.

"Didn't mean to scare you," Michael said.

"Forget it," Sinon sighed. "Any good fights yet?"

"Remember that ass hole I fought in the ring?" Michael grumbled walking to the trees and looking outward, expecting Archon to jump out. "He almost killed me. He started less than a hundred meters from me. Aside from Archon, you're the first I've met."

"So you haven't met him yet," Sinon sighed. "That's good. Then it's not too late."

"Too late?" Michael asked turning around to find her automatic pistol aimed at him.

"If I shoot you...you'll be safe," Sinon said quietly. "He can't hurt you if you're already dead."

Michael walked up to her until her pistol was against his forehead.

"Maybe," Michael agreed. "But, then again, it may be that the people are dying from something else. In which case, I may be in danger still. Besides, I told you that me and Kirito would handle him. I will protect you. So you can't shoot me."

Sinon narrowed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears he saw welling up in them. Her pistol trembled for a moment before her hand fell and the tears began to run down her face. He stepped forward, hugging her and she buried her face in his chest. After a couple minutes, she stepped back and looked away from him at a bridge in the distance.

"Dyne and a guy named Pale Rider are that way," Sinon said. "They're going to fight."

"Let's go watch shall we?" Michael smiled.

Sinon nodded, smiling and putting her pistol away. Then, she slipped her hand into his. He smiled and they began to jog toward the bridge. As they neared it, Michael released her hand, pulling out his rifle as she ran ahead to a sniping position. They both lay in the prone, watching as Dyne sprinted across the bridge then spun, dropping to the prone as well and aiming at the far end.

"Always watch your six Dyne," Sinon muttered as she sighted in on him.

Just then, she rolled over, pulling her pistol only for it to be knocked away. Michael rolled as well, putting his rifle to Kirito's head.

"Oh, it's you," Michael sighed. "You scared me for a second. Lay down. I assume you want to watch."

Kirito nodded and Sinon put her pistol away as Kirito lay down with a pair of binoculars. As they watched, Pale Rider, a player dressed in light-colored camouflage light armor with a pump shotgun, appeared on the far side then charged, his speed alowing him to easily leap from the suspension on the bridge to the other and then to the road while avoiding Dyne's bullets. Then, he fired, hitting Dyne and throwing him. Dyne tried to get up as Pale Rider landed in front of him, putting the shotgun to his head and firing. Dyne landed a ways away, the word "DEAD" appearing over him.

"No," Michael said. "It's not Pale Rider."

"How do you know?" Kirito asked.

"Death Gun had a sniper rifle," Michael said. "Pake Rider couldn't carry one because he's full AGI."

Kirito nodded just as a glowing blue dot hit Pale Rider, knocking him over. Electricity ran over him and everyone stared in shock.

"Let me see those," Michael said, taking the binoculars from Kirito.

He looked through as a shimmering silhouette stepped out of the shadows of the bridge's supsension. The shimmering stopped and left Death Gun standing on the bridge.

"Shoot him," Michael snarled, pulling out his map item and activating it, cursing.

The satelite was not in position. He put it away as Sinon fired. He looked through the binoculars again just as Death Gun leaned out of the way, the bullet streaking past.

"Oh shit," Michael growled.

Death Gun looked up at them as he pulled his pistol out of his cloak. Then, he turned back to Pale Rider, making a cross in front of himself. Then, he aimed at Pale Rider and fired. After a moment, Pale Rider leapt to his feet, aiming at Death Gun, who made no move to avoid it. Rather than fire, Pale Rider staggered backward, clutching his chest. Then, his avatar disappeared in a green flash. Then, Death Gun aimed at the camera hovering beside him. Then, he turned, walking behind a support and vanishing.

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	39. Chapter 39

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Flee

"In Sword Art Online, the person controlling Death Gun killed dozens of people," Kirito said. "He slaughtered them for money and didn't care that they actually died."

"That's horrible," Sinon stated. "At least it's only one."

"Two," Michael corrected. "In SAO, Archon slaughtered for fun. In fact, he slaughtered so many, and so easily, that Laughing Coffin, the murder guild Death Gun was in, worked with us to kill him. But we failed. We couldn't even find him in the end."

Sinon stared at him in surprise then nodded. She picked up her rifle and they stood.

"We should follow the river," Sinon said. "It goes toward the city. I saw several players there in the last scan."

"He's not swimming," Michael said. "He can turn invisible. But you're right. He'll head toward the city."

Sinon nodded and they left, running along the river until they reached the outskirts of the ruined city in the center of the map. They slowed to a stop and sighed.

"So, do we have any suspects?" Michael asked.

"Jishu X and Sterben," Sinon said.

Michael thought for a moment then nodded.

"We'll just have ro kill both then," Michael nodded. "If both are here, I'll go after Sterben. He sounds cooler."

Sinon snorted and Michael grinned as Sinon's alarm went off again. She pulled out her map and opened it and they saw that only Jishu X was nearby.

"Looks like we have a target," Sinon said putting the item away.

They walked into the city and slowly progressed through it. Juat as they reached an intersection, a single red line appeared from a building to between Michael's eyes. He dove to the side, the bullet flashing past. Sinon and Kirito dove behind cover as well and Kirito looked out of cover, looking for the s iper. Michael fired one shot at the window and Sinon pulled out her pistol.

"You two go," Sinon said. "I'll cover you."

Michael nodded and sprinted out of cover with Kirito as Sinon opened fire. After about a minute, they broke into the building, sprinting up to the top floor and finding Jushi X, a female player and clearly not Death Gun, behind a sniper rifle. She sat up, firing an assault rifle that Michael didn't recognize at them. Both scattered and she followed Kirito only for Michael to put the rifle to her head, firing five shots, killing her, the barrier not effecting the shits do to a glitch regarding the range.

"So it does work," Michael grinned.

Then, he looked out into the street to see Sinon lying on the ground with a stun bullet sticking out of her arm and Death Gun over her.

"I don't fucking think so," Michael snarled, grabbing Jushi X's sniper rifle and aiming at Death Gun. "Get away from her."

He fired, the bullet streaking through the air and very nearly hitting Death Gun. The bullet grazed his arm, forcing him to not shoot Sinon and he fled to cover. Michael instantly leapt out the window, leaving the rifle which Kirito grabbed, firing at Death Gun when Death Gun stuck his head out. Michael sprinted over, hurling a grenade he had grabbed off of Jushi X. The grenade exploded and created a dust cloud, giving Michael enough cover to grab Sinon and sprint away. Kirito joined them in the road and they sprinted to the vehicles. Just as Kirito climbed onto one, Archon stepped out of a building. Michael swore, passing Sinon to Kirito.

"You sure?" Kirito asked.

"Get the fuck out of here," Michael growled, equipping and drawing his Photon Sword. "I'll hold them here. And Kirito, take care of her."

Kirito nodded then sped off on his ride. As he rode, Michael turned to Archon just as Death Gun appeared beside him.

"So, Sterben, is it?" Michael asked. "German for die, right? Now, the real question is, which Laughing Coffin were you?"

Death Gun chuckled, drawing his melee weapon as Archon turned and ran down a side street.

"Are you ready to die again?" Death Gun asked.

"Go to hell," Michael snarled. "I'm not letting you hurt Sinon. Even if I have to die."

Death Gun sprinted forward, stabbing at Michael rapidly but Michael drew his knife, using it with his sword to block almost all of Death Gun's blows. Then, he ducked under a spray of bullets from Archon that instead hit Death Gun, launching him backward, nearly killing him.

"Shit," Archon swore. "My bad. I'll handle him now though."

Death Gun stood, putting his weapon away and climbing onto a horse, speeding off. Archon opened fire at Michael and Michael began to spin his sword, slashing the bullets as he had seen Kirito doing. He was not nearly as good and numerous bullets slipped past, but he was doing well. Finally, he turned, sprinting into a side street and away from Archon. He skidded around another corner, the wall beside his head practically exploding. Then, he leapt onto a dumpster and over a low wall. As he did, the wall began to be peppered witb bullets too.

"Faster Michael," he growled to himself. "Have to get there."

He skidded around another corner, a bullet nearly shaving off his eyebrows as he did, then another. Finally, it came into view.

_Gas station!_ Michael thought.

He sprinted into a building to his side and set up on the top floor, equipping the sniper Sinon had given him and looking through at the massive fuel tanker parked beside the station. Archon slowly walked toward the station, guns up, ready to shoot Michael as he attacked. Michael grinned. Archon had no idea Michael had a sniper rifle. Just as Archon stepped up beside a gas pump, Michael fired, hitting the tanker. It exploded into a massive fireball, casing the fuel below the station to also explode. Michael ducked down, plugging his ears against the noise.

When it was over, he opened his map but saw Archon was still alive, just fleeing.

"Bastard," Michael growled. "Fine. We'll settle it later."

He put the rifle away and left the building, getting on a three-wheeler of his own and speeding out of the city. After a few minutes, he finally found tire tracks and followed. They led him to a cave where the other three-wheeler was parked. As soon as Michael's feet hit the ground, Sinon's arms went around his neck.

"Sorry," Michael sighed. "I couldn't get either. Archon is a slippery bastard."

"So is Death Gun," Kirito stated. "We think we figured him out though. We think it's actually one player and then a friend in real life, sneaking into people's houses and killing them. They get the address from Death Gun watching people sign up for real life bonuses then use sincronized watches to create the illusion that the gun kills."

"Which could mean that any of us three has someone standing over us," Michael sighed.

"No," Kirito said. "You didn't put your address and neither did I. Plus, I'm in a hospital under guard."

"But Sinon did put in her address," Michael stated. "And she is alone and obviously a target. She can't wake up until after we kill Death Gun. They won't kill her if we can. And if she wakes up now, they might just so she can't tell anyone."

Kirito nodded in agreement.

"You need to cover whichever of us fights Death Gun with your rifle," Michael said as Sinon pulled back to look up at him. "You are not fighting him."

Sinon nodded him then buried her head in his chest again. He sighed, walking into the cave and sat down, Sinon sitting in his lap, cradled in his arms. He leaned his head forward, resting it on hers and closed his eyes, feeling her start to relax. As they sat there, he felt the world begin to slip away. Then, Kirito shook him, beinging him back from the edge of sleep.

"Can't have you being logged out," Kirito stated.

Michael nodded, sighing and glancing down at the now calm Sinon who was also about to drift off. Michael woke her and she wrappee her arms around him tighter in protest. Kirito smirked and returned to watching out of the cave.

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	40. Chapter 40

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Final Battle

"I'm going to take off now," Michael said. "Death Gun can't kill either of us. And he has no interest in killing me. Death Gun's grudge is mostly with you. Especially since he knows that I'd leave her with you for protection. The one that will come after me is Archon. They're working together and Archon wants me dead, desperately. He'll want to kill me himself. Thankfully he's locked up so the best he can do is to kill me here himself. When the next scan goes off, it'll pick me up alone, and it needs to pick you up alone too, Kirito. Sinon, get to a good position after the scan and cover Kirito. Also, there may be other players around."

"We'll deal with them as we go," Kirito said. "We'll handle them. You worry about beating Achon."

Michael nodded and got on the rover, speeding away from the cave. He sped away and curved around, stopping after a couple minutes, sitting in the desert. He pulled out his map item and opened it. As he expected, Death Gun, or rather Sterben, didn't show up on the map. But just as he looked, two players eliminated themselves, leaving himself, Archon, Kirito, and Yamikaze. Archon began toward Michael instantly and Yamikaze did as well. Michael turned toward Yamikaze, lying down with his sniper and aiming, zooming in all the way. The reaction was instant.

Blood splattered against his face. He took a deep breath, gripping his rifle tighter, ignoring the blood. It began to run, the green circle was moving in a blur. He was gasping for breath.

"Damn it Michael," Michael snarled wiping his face just to prove that it was dry. "Calm down."

He sighted back in but closed his eyes. He could see his family, their faces disfigured and partially removed by the bullets that killed them. Then, Sinon appeared. She was sighting in through her rifle. Then, she sat up, beginning to choke and and clutching her chest. Tears flooded out of her eyes and she reached out toward him then, she shattered.

Michael's eyes snapped open and he saw Yamikaze speeding toward him. He sighed, gritting his teeth.

"No," Michael snarled. "No one is hurting Sinon."

The green circle began to slow. Then, just as it was small and entirely in Yamikaze's face, Michael squeezed of a round. It streaked through the air and then blasted through Yamikaze's head at the same time as a sniper bullet hit the ground in front of Michael. Michael leapt to the side as Archon crashed down where he had been, blasting dust into the air. After a moment, Michael hered another shot and prayed Sinon hadn't missed. He equipped and drew his Photon Sword as the dust settled and Archon laughed, drawing two, both with black blades, which Michael wasn't entirely certain how it worked.

"Looks like the bitch saved you after all," Archon snarled. "Doesn't matter. By now, you know Death Gun's secret. So I'll let you in on a secret. Our friend is watching Death Gun's fight from her room right now. I hope you said goodbye."

"Archon, why would Laughing Coffin members work with you?" Michael asked.

"Because I'm the best," Archon said. "And because I wanted your head. Let's do this the right way, shall we?"

He raised his swords then spun, slashing the rover and destroying it, kicking a metal pannel at Michael. Michael caught it by a metal handle and smirked. It was a shield.

"Can this stand up to Photon Swords?" Michael asked.

"Once destroyed, vehicles can no longer be damaged," Archon said. "So no, yes. It is indestructible."

Archon charged, stabbing at Michael. The blade sparked off of the shield as Archon looked up at Michael, his glasses glowing, the memory of the red-eyed leader of Laughing Coffin appearing in his mind.

"XaXa," Michael snarled. "That's Death Gun's Sword Art Online name."

Archon grinned and charged again, slashing at Michael rapidly. The swords sparked against Michael's shield almost constantly. Finally, Michael flew backward, bouncing and rolling along the ground. He pushed himself up, picking up his shield and looking to the side to see Kirito dueling against Death Gun.

He looked back at Archon in time to deflect a sword and slash at him. Archon blocked it and began to slash again. After a moment, Michael smashed his shield into one of Archon's swords, knocking it away then dropped to a knee, smashing his shield down on Archon's foot. Archon staggered back just as Michael's shield crashed into his chest, flipping him onto his back. Michael stabbed down at him but he spun, kicking Michael's legs out from under him then rolled, stabbing downward at Michael. Michael smashed the blade aside with the shield and stabbed at Archon, forcing him to leap back, allowing Michael to stand. He sprinted at Archon, slashing rapidly. Archon began to back away, blocking the blade and grinning from ear to ear.

"What's so funny?" Michael snarled. "You're losing ground."

"Is that right?" Archon asked, pivoting past a slash, allowing Michael to stumble past.

Michael spun, slashing at Archon again but Archon had leapt backward, avoiding the blade. Michael lunged with a stab, turning sideways and allowing Archon's right blade to barely graze him as Archon's left blade smashed Michael's away. Michael spun, slamming the top of his make-shift shield into Archon's chest, launching him backward. As Archon stood, Michael held the shield and sword up, readying himself.

"Not bad," Archon snickered. "I'm impressed. Truly. However, I believe you'll find it takes a bit more than that to defeat me. I know your old tricks."

"I know," Michael nodded, dropping his shield. "So let's try something new."

Archon raised an eyebrow and Michael sprinted forward, slashing diagonally, downward to the left. Then, he slashed hirizontally right at the abdomen. Next, he slashed diagonally up to the left then flipped the sword around and slashed back downward. Next, he brought his sword up and slashed diagonally downward to the left again. He spun, slashing in a circle then again, ending by transferring the slash into an overhead arc, ending at his side. Then, he stepped forward, stabbing at Archon. Archon leapt back from the stab and then raised his now tattered cloak, which was l the other attacks had hit. He sighed, ripping it off and hurled it away, allowing the wind to take it. With the cloak gone, Archon's torso was exposed. Specifically the two belts of machine pistol mags and the two grenades hanging off Archon's torso.

"You ruined my favorite cloak," Archon snarled. "That was quite an impressive little combo. Fast. Just like an OSS."

Michael narrowed his eyes at Archon, raising the sword and drawing his knife in reverse grip. Archon laughed and charged, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked the sword with his own then ducked undeelr the other, hurling the knife at Archon. It hit him dead center of the chest and knocked him back a step. Then, Michael stepped forward, slashing at Archon. Archon blocked it the pivoted around a secon knife, kicking Michael in the back of the head and knocking him to the ground, Michael's Photon Sword retracting as he dropped it. He grabbed it as he landed, making sure the opening was toward Archon, and waited.

Archon stepped up next to Michael, raising a sword. Before he could stab Michael, Michael's blade extended at his face. He leapt backward and Michael shoved himself up, looking over at Archon, his eyes meeting with Archon's right eye through the newly broken right lense. The glasses shattered and Archon growled in rage.

"Not bad," Archon snarled. "You almost got me. Unfortunately, that means that now, I'm done toying with you."

Michael sprinted forward, stabbing at Archon but Archon was suddenly beside him. He stabbed Michael, the blade blasting him backward. Michael landed beside his shield and picked it up, blocking a blade just before the other blade removed his arm at the elbow. Michael shouted in surprise, leaping back then blocking a stab with his own sword. He spun, smashing his stump into the side of Archon's head then spun the other way, slashing at Archon's side. Archon blocked it and stabbed Michael again, launching him. Michael landed on his feet and Archon charged, slashing at Michael from all sides. Michael didn't lose a beat, blocking the blades and slashing back when he could, though it wasn't often. Finally, Archon managed to cut Michael's hand in half, leaving only hia thumb, index, and middle finger, and destroyed the handle of Michael's Photon Sword, making the rest shatter.

Michael staggered backward, falling. As he fell, he slid his hand into his pocket. Archon stepped up over him as Michael pulled the grenade he had grabbed from archon's belt out. Archon slashed Michael's arm at the elbow then reached down to his own grenades, finsing one had indeed gone missing.

"Sneaky bastard," Archon snarled.

"Game over," Michael responded, grinning.

"What?" Archon growled before his eyes widened.

He turned to run but as he took his first step, Michael hooked his foot around Archon's tripping him. Then, the grenade exploded, blasting both of their lower bodies and Michael's torso into pieces. Michael's head, which he could still see through, landed facing Kirito where Sinon was arriving as well. She tossed him a grenade then stopped beside him, smiling at Michael and raising a hand. Michael would also have smiled if he could control his avatar's face. Kirito had successfully defeated Death Gun, which meant that Sinon was safe. Then, the grenade went off and Michael's vision went white.

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	41. Chapter 41

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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House Call

Michael opened his eyes, groaning and removing his nerve gear, setting it aside. He had ended up tying for third, since he and Archon died after Death Gun, but Sinon and Kirito tying for first left no second place. Michael set his Nerve Gear aside, walking to his bathroom and splashing some cool water on his face, hoping it would help his headache. It didn't.

He sighed, walking back to his room and flicking on the light, then freezing. There was a very long cord, like the one he used to connect his NerveGear to the computer reaching across the room to the closet. He knew for a fact there should be no cord eading to the closet because he had no NerveGear in it. He picked up a bat he kept beside the door and threw the door open. An AmuSphere lay on the floor of his closet. He backed away slowly. Only one person would dive from his room without saying anything, then disappear and leave the AmuSphere.

"That's impossible," Michael snarled. "He couldn't have."

Michael walked silently through the house, searching everywhere. Just as he reached the last door, he heard something move behind him. He spun just as Archon crashed into him, tackling him through the door and into a closet. Michael grunted as his head hit a shelf and he dropped his bat. He placed his feet against Archon's chest while holding Archon's hands so that Archon ciuldn't punch him or draw a weapon, then shoved. Archon flew backward, bouncing off the ground and rolling to his feet as Michael picked up his bat and stood.

"How'd you get out?" Michael demanded.

"I made a shank out of a toothbrush, then got my hands on a scalpel and walked out," Archon snickered. "Of course, I may have had help from a certain red-eyed SAO survivor."

"XaXa broke you out," Michael stated.

"Heavens no," Archon stated. "He just met me at the door."

Archon drew a Maddog Fighting Knife from behind himself. Michael sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of your shit," Michael growled.

"I'm sure," Archon snorted. "And I'm sure you would love to go see that fetching girlfriend of yours. Truthfully as much as I want your head, I'd much rather have been thre too. Just think of the things I could have done while she played. But, that little selfish shit refused to allow anything but himself. I'm sure he's taking good care of her, though."

Michael narrowed his eyes at Archon who grinned. Then, Archon stpped forward, stabbing at him. Michael swung the bat to the right, hitting Archon's hand and sending the knife flying then swinging the other way, hitting Archon in the side of the head. Archon staggered to the sjde then caught the bat, grinning. He shoved it back, hitting Michael in the forehead then ripping it away. Michael lunged, tackling Archon and knocking the bat away then beginning to punch Archon. Archon caught his hands and laughed, kicking Michael in the left inner thigh, making it go numb then throwing him off. Michael began to stand but Archon caught his foot, yanking it and knocking Michael onto his stomach again. Then, Archon spun, hurling Michael across the room into the wall. Michael groaned as he slid down the wall, landing in a heap at the bottom of it. Archon picked up the knife and grinned.

"It's over," Archon snickered. "I can only imagine the look on that poor girl's face when she finds out you died. Hell, who am I kidding? She's going to be dead too."

Michael stood, glaring at Archon.

"Shut your mouth," Michael snarled.

Archon laughed and sprinted forward, raising his knife. Before he could attack, Michael spun and dropped his hands to the ground, driving his right foot up into Archon's face. Archon staggered back and Michael turned, throwing a punch at Archon. Archon leaned back then slashed at Michael. Michael ducked under it then stood, catching Archon's arm as he tried to stab him in reverse grip in the other direction. Archon put his other hand on the butt of the knife, pushing as hard as he could and Michael gripped his own wrist with his free hand. After a moment, Archon smashed his knee into Michael's side, dropping the knife down to his side in standard grip, trying to stab Michael again only for Michael to again catch his arm then clap his left ear, disorienting him.

Archon stumbled back and Michael grabbed Archon's arm, moving it up to stab Archon with his own knife. Archon grabbed his own wrist, pushing away as hard as he could. After a moment, Archon headbutted Michael, wrenching his hand free and tripping Michael. He flipped the knife around and drove it down at Michael. Michael jerked his head to the side, the knife stabbing into the floor. Archon wrenched it free and Michael pulled Archon into a headbutt. Archon reeled back and Michael grabbed him, rolling them over and taking the knife, driving it down at Archon's face. Archon caught his wrists and tried to hold the knife back. For a moment, he succeeded, until Michael smashed a knee between his legs. Instantly Archon's aarms buckled and the knfe burried itself in his brain.

"Good riddance," Michael snarled, turning and sprinting out of his house.

He spirinted down the road to Sinon's house and kicked the door in. Just as he did, Sinon sprinted into the room, throwing her arms around him and screaming about getting away.

"You," a voice snarled from the door Sinon had come from.

"Shinkawa," Sinon breathed, terror clear in her voice.

She hid behind Michael, clutching the backnof his shirt.

"You..." Michael growled. "You're Spiegel aren't you?"

"Yeah," Spiegel snarled. "You should have listened to my warning."

"Did he hurt you?" Michael asked, looking back at Sinon.

"No," Sinon said. "Let's just go."

"You're not going anywhere," Spiegel snarled, pulling out a small silver object that kind of looked like an arrow head with the point missing.

Michael felt Sinon crynge at the sight of it and was able to guess what it was.

"Poison," Michael guessed. "Good thinking. Disappears after a short time and after a while you can't see the hole. Too bad you won't get me with it."

Michael reached back, pulling Sinon's hands off his shirt and walked forward. Shinkawa sprinted forward, leaping at Michael. Michael caught him by the shirt, spinning and flipping Shinkawa over himself, slamming him down on his back, kicking the syringe away. Then, he dragged Shinkawa away from Sinon. Shinkawa kicked him in the head, knocking him off, then lunged for the poison again. Michael grabbed Shinkawa by the leg, dragging him away from it then jumped over him, grabbing the syringe. He hurled it away just before Shinkawa pushed Michael off, climbing on top and punching him. After three, Michael caught Shinkawa's hands then kicked him off.

Shinkawa stood and sprinted for the syringe. Michael jumped up, grabbing Shinkawa and dragged him back, rolling him over. Just as he did, Shinkawa drove the syringe at him. Michael caught his arm then switched it to his oppisite hand, using his newly freed one to break Shinkawa's arm. Shinkawa screamed in pain and Michael slid the syringe away. Then, he picked up Shinkawa's head and smashed it back down three tikes, knocking Shinkawa unconscious.

He tied Shinkawa's hands together and then tied him into a chair. Then, he picked up the syringe, setting it on the counter. Lastly, he turned and walked to Sinon, pulling her into a gentle hug, feeling her dissolve into tears in his arms. He led her to the living room and sat her doqn on the couch, sitting beside her. She sobbed into his shoulder and he lifted her into his lap, gently running his hand over her hair. She sobbed hadder as they sat there for a time, before starting to calm down.

Finally, the police arrived and Michael opened the door, letting them in and allowing them to put him in hand cuffs for the second time. Sinon explained what had happened to one officer while Michael explained his side of the story, including what had taken place in his own house, and the officer locked him in the back seat of the car then drove to Michael's house and went inside. After a few minutes, he walked out and took down Michael's official statement then drove him back, letting him out and the other officer walked over.

"That guy that slaughtered his way out of the psych ward broke into his home and tried to kill him," the officer informed the other. "He was forced to kill the guy but judging by his face it was far from an easy fight. His house is also trashed and there's signs of a fight everywhere so he's obviously telling the truth. It was obviously self defense. I'm heading back over to wait for the undertaker. I got his statement already."

"Alright," the officer that had stayed with Sinon nodded. "You're free to go, sir. I'm sorry for the way your night turned out. I'll get Mr. Shouichi over to the hospital then to the station so he'll be out of your house Ma'am."

Sinon nodded and the officer untied Shinkawa and then put cuffs on him, put him in the back of the car, and removed Michael's. Then, he drove away and Michael walked into Sinon's house, inspecting the damage to the door. The latch was destroyed and the door wouldn't be staying closed on it's own. He slid a chair in front of it to hold it closed then walked to the couch, sitting down and pulling Sinon into a hug. Sinon wrapped her arms around him as well but didn't start crying again.

"You know, I don't think we ever properly introduced ourselves," Michael said after a bit. "I'm Michael Johnson, gamer, swordsman, sniper-in-training, SAO surviver, and expert hacker."

Sinon looked up at him in surprise and he smiled knowingly.

"I at no point hacked in GGO," Michael said. "All of it was actually skill."

Sinon nodded, smiling and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm Shino Asada," Sinon said.

"Pleased to meet you," Michael smiled. "And I'm glad I did."

Sinon nodded, squeezing a little tighter just as someone knocked.

"Michael, Sinon, it's Kirito," Kirito's voice called from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Coming," Shino called out standing.

The two of them walked to the door, Michael looking through the peep hole before moving the chair and allowing Kirito in.

"I'd have been here sooner but I figured Michael had the situation handled," Kirito said. "Plus I doubted the cops needed someone else to deal with."

"So you're Kazuto?" Shino asked. "You look better with short hair. A little more male."

Michael covered his mouth, stifling a laugh and Shino laughed as well.

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	42. Chapter 42

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Comfort

"Will you stay?" Shino asked once Kirito was gone and Michael had closed the door. "Just for tonight?"

"I'll stay as long as you want me to," Michael smiled, gently brushing some loose hair back.

Shino smiled then her eyes fell to the floor. Michael wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against himself and she rested her head on his shoulder, her arms around his stomach. They stayed there for a while until she yawned. He smiled and he guided her through the house to a hallway out of the livingroom. She took the lead, walking to her bedroom with him. He stopped at the door, allowing her to put her AmuSphere away. She got some bed clothes out and glanced at Michael.

"I'll be right outside the door," Michael promised, closing the door to give her privacy.

After a couple minutes, she opened the door, telling him he could turn around. He did and smirked. Her pajamas were printed with different sniper rifles.

"Don't laugh," Shino requested, sounding more vulnerable and desperate for acceptance than he had heard anyone.

"Why would I laugh?" Michael asked. "I like those."

Shino smiled, but shook her head. She turned and walked to the bed sitting down then looking over at Michael.

"Oh, you don't have any pajamas do you?" Shino realized.

"It's alright," Michael smiled. "I'll be fine. As long as you don't mind me sleeping in this."

"It's alright," Shino smiled. "Just no shoes."

Michael smiled and walked into the bedroom, sitting on the other side of the bed. Shino lay down and Michael stayed sitting up, mind focusing on Archon for the first time since he had killed him. He felt sick. He felt like he might vomit. After a moment, Shino's arms wrapped around him from behind. Her head lay on his back and she sighed.

"It was self defense, and in order to protect me," Shino said.

"That doesn't change the fact that I killed him," Michael said.

"No," Shino said. "It doesn't. But if you and Kirito taught me anything, it's that killing is okay it it's for the right reason. You saved me. Because you killed him."

Michael sighed and nodded. Shino pulled back and he turned around to her, smirking.

"What?" Shino asked.

"When did you become my therapist?" Michael asked.

Shino blinked then laughed and he joined in. After a couple minutes, she lay back down and he followed suit. She lay her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, he placed a feather-light kiss on the top of her head. For a moment, she seemed to be asleep. Then, she looked up at him, cheeks stained red. Michael slowly leaned in, placing a light kiss on her lips. He pulled back and she followed. He smiled and kissed her again, Shino kissing him back. After a few minutes, they separated to breathe and Shino lay her head back down, smiling and almost immediately falling asleep. Michael smiled as well and closed his eyes, drifting off.

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	43. Chapter 43

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Overdue

Michael opened the door to Agil's cafe and walked in, Shino following. Michael sat down at a table where Lisbeth and Asuna were waiting with Kirito and Shino sat beside him, looking between him and the other two females.

"Shino, allow me to introduce Asuna Yuuki and...well, Lisbeth," Michael said, suddenly realizing he had never found out Lisbeth's real name.

"Rika Shinozaki," Lisbeth smiled. "Which Michael would know if he ever bothered to ask."

"I was busy," Michael shrugged.

"Obviously," Rika snorted.

"Anyway," Michael sighed. "Asuna and Rika are both SAO survivors like me and Kir..uh, Kazuto."

Shino nodded as Agil walked in with their drinks and took Michael and Shino's orders.

"Oh, this is Agil," Michael said. "He's also an SAO survivor."

Shino greeted him kindly and he left to get their drinks. Michael sighed and Kirito began.

"Shino, there's a reason we brought you here today," Kirito said. "But first, I owe you a huge apology."

"For what?" Shino asked.

"I told Asuna and Rika about the incident," Kirito stated.

"You what!?" Shino demanded. "Why would you do that?"

She tried to stand but Michael caught her hand.

"Because I asked him to," Michael said. "Because there's someone you need to meet. And it's long overdue."

He nodded to Rika and Rike stood, walking to a door and opening it. A moment later, a woman with wavy brown hair walked out with a young girl no older than four. The woman sat across from Shino and smiled at her as the girl stared in amazement. After a moment, the mother bowed, her daughter copying her for a moment before looking up at her mother again.

"Um, who are you?" Shino asked, not wanting to sound rude but wanting to know why it was important she speak to the woman.

"It's wonderful to meet you," the mother said sitting up. "Ms. Shino Asada, was it? My name is Sachie Oosawa. This is Mizue. She's four. Before my little girl was born, I used to work at the post office."

Shino stared at her in recognition and shock.

"I'm sorry," Sachie apologized. "I'm so sorry Shino. I...I should have met with you so long ago. I never apologized...or even thanked you." Sachie wiped her tears and rested her hand on top of her daughter's head. "At the time of the incident, I was pregnant with this child. So, you saved not only me, but also the life of this young girl. Really...really thank you so much. Thank you so much."

She began to cry again while Shino stared at her and the child.

"Saved your...life?" Shino blinked.

"You suffer because you can't forgive yourself for the life you took," Michael said. "But you never stopped to think about the lives you saved back then. I thought that maybe meeting someone you saved would help."

Shino looked back as Mizue walked around the table, pulling a piece of paper out of her bag and held it out to Shino. Shino accepted it, seeing that it was a picture of Shino standing with Mizue and her mother.

"Big sister Shino," Mizue said. "Thank you for saving Mommy and me!"

Shino lowered the paper, tears running out of her face and dripping onto the picture. Mizue reached up, wrapping her small hands around one of Shino's. Shino set the picture aside and toom Mizue's hands in her other and smiled. Michael did as well and Mizue beamed at Shino.

After a while, Mizue and Sachie said their goodbyes and left. Shino wiped her eyes, leaning against Michael and smiling.

"Thank you," Shino sniffed. "I needed that. Thank you for caring."

"Of course," Michael smiled. "I told you I would be there for you. And besides, you helped me with mine by being there. I figured I should do something for you too."

Shino smiled and kissed him, then leaned on his shoulder. Rika grinned at Michael and he rolled his eyes. After a few minutes, he decided to ask the question he had been wanting to since the incident with Death Gun.

"So, when's the next hunt?" Michael asked.

"There isn't one," Sinon stated. "I've decided I'm going to take a break from GGO for a while. I think I need a break from guns."

"Thank God," Michael groaned. "I swear if I had to look at one more rifle I might hack the game and turn it into Alfheim...uh...I mean..."

"I knew it!" Shino grinned sitting up. "I knew you were a fairy boy."

"Oh shut up," Michael grumbled. "It's a lot more fun than you think."

"I know," Shino snorted. "I think I'm going to try it."

Michael smiled and Shino grinned.

"It'll be fun to be stronger than you in two games," Shino grinned.

Michael groaned then laughed.

"We'll see," Michael smirked. "I bet I win though."

Shino grinned and lay on his shoulder again. He wrapped an arm around her and she yawned.

"Someone's tired," Asuna laughed.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "I better get you home. You have school in the morning. Wouldn't want to miss math."

"Okay Mom," Shino laughed standing and walking to the door. "See you guys in ALfheim after school tomorrow."

And with that, she left. Michael said his own goodbyes and followed.

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	44. Chapter 44

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Like a Boss

Michael leaned back against the tree, tossing the crystal and then grinning over at Kirito.

"Undine," Kirito said. "Range and blue hair."

Michael snorted in amusement. While it was a fair guess given Sinon's skill set and appearance in GGO, Michael had a different guess.

"Catsy," Michael stated.

Kirito smirked and both nodded, agreeing on a bet. After a moment, there was a blinding light and a girl with a green shirt and pants, sapphire eyes, and bright blue hair, cat ear, and cat tail appeared in front of them with a bow and arrows slung across her back. She blinked and looked around then at Michael who smiled. Then, he held out his hand and Kirito dropped a pouch full of money into it.

"What was that for?" Sinon asked.

"We bet on what race you'd be," Kirito stated. "He said Undine for the ranged magic attacks and blue hair. I said Catsy."

"How'd you know?" Kirito asked.

"First, you can choose hair color now," Michael stated. "Second, because Catsy bows have more range than Undine spells. Plus, Sinon's naturally forty twenty eyesight is doubled as a Catsy."

Sinon grinned and sighed, walking over.

"So, let me guess, you swapped your GGO stats back to your ALfheim Online avatar," Sinon guessed.

"I did," Michael nodded. "But don't worry. You're not starting from flat either."

"What?" Sinon asked.

"Put this on," he said holding out a necklace.

She put it on and it shattered instantly. Then, he avatar went fuzzy for a moment before solidifying again. She looked at her stats and her moth dropped open.

"You gave me my GGO stats?" Sinon gaped.

"Well yeah," Michael snorted. "We're going boss hunting. Why wouldn't I?"

Sinon sighed and shrugged. Then, an alert box appeared, saying she had new equipment.

"By the way, I bought you some better gear," Michael said walking away.

Sinon equipped it and was suddenly wearing a green coat with only half a left sleeve and no right sleeve, a silver chest plate, black shorts, black boots, black wrappings around her hands, a black belt with metal plates on the outsides of her hips, black cord holding her hair in the usual style, and a three-strap black quiver with a strap under each arm and over her right shoulder with a metal plate over the clasp where they met in front, and a black choker. She now held a red bow as tall as she was and had near-invisible string.

"Much better," Michael said. "Now you look just like the rest of our gang of misfits."

"Jee thanks," Sinon said rolling her eyes. "So, are we going to kill things or chat?"

Michael grinned and flew into the air.

"If you can catch me without the remote, we'll go kill things," Michael said. "You still need to learn to play this game."

Sinon extended her wings, which looked like short transparent golden angel wings, then flew into the air, tagging Michael and flying away, winking back at him.

"Why that unbelievable..." Michael growled, unable to help but grin. "Kirito, I think she's played before."

"Double or nothing," Kirito grinned.

Michael laughed and flew after Sinon, catching her easily.

"When did you play?" Michael asked.

"A few times here and there," Sinon stated. "So, can we kill stuff now?"

Michael laughed and spun, catching a second bag of money then turned, flying toward New Aincrad with Kirito and Sinon following, Kirito sending out a mass message that they were going after the next floor boss. Five minutes later, they landed outside the door to the floor dungeon. A moment later, Eugene landed behind Michael, Asuna landed beside Kirito, Leafa landed between Kirito and Sinon, who was beside Michael, Klein and Agil landed beside Eugene, and Lisbeth and Silica landed on the far right and left of the front line.

"So, would someone care to explain why our boss fight formation has three of the strongest in back and our new archer in the front?" Lisbeth asked.

"You'll see," Michael said as they walked toward the dungeon's door.

Just as he reached out toward it, a massive black armoling sword spun through the air at their backs. Eugene, Agil, and Klein all worked together, smashing it into the air with an ability. Then, Kirito and Michael sped past, slashing at the creature standing before them. It caught both blades, spinning and hurling them away then roared.

"You put this thing in as a Field Boss?" Klein snapped.

"I thought you might recognize him," Michael grinned. "Everyone, meet the Day of the Dead event boss."

The creature raised its hand, catching its sword and growled, eyes glowing red as it watched Michael.

"Ah shit," Michael groaned. "I didn't think about that."

"What?" Kirito asked.

"Well, I used a copy of the programming from the original Aincrad version," Michael stated. "Unfortunately, that also means he knows me because he thinks we were just fighting."

Kirito nodded and sprinted forward, slashing at the creature. It blocked his sword and his sword went flying before the creature punched him, hurling him in the opposite direction.

"Oh yeah," Michael blinked. "I forgot he does that. Alright, Archon style."

He stabbed his sword into the ground and held his hands out. Leada hurled hers to him and then Kirito's and Michael sprinted forward, tossing Leafa's sword then grabbing his Elucidator. The creature flew forward, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked the slash then slashed at the creature with his remaining sword. It blocked it as Michael caught Leafa's sword, spinning and activating the same spinning ability he had had in Sword Art Online. On the third cut the creature flew backward and Michael caught his Elucidator, tossing Leafa back her sword then catching Kirito's sword and tossing it back too.

"Attack it!" He shouted sprinting forward.

It flew at him, sword first and he flipped out of the way, stabbing at it. It avoided the attack and flew into Agil's axe and Eugene's sword. It roared, spinning and slashing both, sending their chest plates and weapons both flying. Then, it turned toward Michael again. Arrows began to hit it and it roared, spinning toward Sinon in time for Illfang's cleaver to crash with its chest, throwing it back.

"Nice!" Michael shouted, grinning.

"I love monster summoning!" Kirito grinned just before the creature split Illfang in half. "Nevermind."

"Just think, whoever kills this guy..." Michael grinned.

The creature flew at Michael again and Michael sighed, leaping into the air and flipping over it. Just as he landed, he held out both hands and a massive black humanoid with a six-horned bull's head and an enormous hammer appeared in a blinding flash. It charged forward, swinging wildly at the creature. The creature blocked the hammer after a moment and the hammer sailed skyward. Asterius leaned back, inhaling, then opened his mouth, exhaling a stream of lightning that flashed outward, blasting the creature. Just as it landed, Asterius faded and Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth, Eugene, Kirito, and Lisbeth all crashed into it at once. It soun, hurling them all away and Leafa blasted it with a wind spell. It roared, several arrows hitting it, then hurled its sword at Michael as Michael charged. He dove to the ground under it then stood, as the creature flew at him, claws extended.

"That's it," Michael grinned. "Bring it on."

Suddenly, Eugene stepped in front of it, activating his signature ability. On the last hit, the creature exploded and Michael groaned.

"Oh sorry," Eugene smirked. "Did you want him?"

Michael flipped him off and the others laughed, retrieving their lost weapons. They all headed into the dungeon and made their way through it, quickly finding their way to the boss's door. Michael opened the door and they all walked through, Sinon holding an arrow ready. On the far side of the room was a massive gorrilla with four nostrils, six eyes, and a greatsword in eachbhand, each greatsword roughly three times as long as Michael was tall.

"Fuck that," Michael snorted. "Hey Eugene, remember that dungeon we went to?"

"Hell yeah," Eugene nodded as both held their hands out.

Their shadows separated from them, rising in front of them as the same doppelgangers they had fought before. Both sprinted forward and Michael leaned on his sword, Eugene resting his on his shoulder. Both doppelgangers' swords glowed and both activated their originals' OSS, tearing into the boss. After a moment, it slashed both. Michael growled and held out both hands, a massive dark cloud forming in the center of the room. Then, the darkness solidified into an upper body with a reptilian head and two massive arms. The massive boss swiped at the gorilla, losing a few fingers on its sword but successfully launching the gorilla across the room. The gorrilla stood, leaping at the creature. Before it reached it, the vampire Eugene was now able to summon crashed into it, claws first, apparently not able to use its sword as a summon.

After a very short fight, the gorilla split the vampire in half, followed by Michael's summon.

"Are you fucking..." Michael growled. "Okay, fine. Let's do this the hard way."

They all charged at the gorilla, slashing and stabbing as they passed then turning and trying again. Attack after attack hit but it seemed as though he didn't feel it. As Michael neared it the last time and the others all moved away, Michael activated his OSS. The attacks tore through the gorilla in rapid succession. Then, the Gorilla picked him up, mouth glowing.

"Oh fuck you!" Michael spat.

Before it could kill him, an arrow hit it in the eye. It dropped him and Kirito appeared, slashing it across the face. It batted him aside then roared, raising its swords, which began to glow. Then, Leafa appeared, slashing it repeatedly. It staggered back then fell and shattered. Michael sighed, pushing himself up as the usual announcement appeared over the door.

"I'd just like to point out we're on floor seven and almost back to where we were before New Aincrad, and we're being demolished in our fights," Kirito stated.

"I know," Michael said. "Floor bosses double in strength each floor, except every ten which are as strong as the floor boss above them. Except the Skull Reaper. He's still seventy five and he's still more than four times as strong as the floor below. It continues as normal from him though."

"Figures," Kirito sighed. "Well, so long as it's not a death game. I gotta log out though. Night everyone."

Everyone said their goodbyes and logged out, leaving just Michael and Sinon. She began to log out but he caught her hand.

"I want to show you something," Michael said.

Sinon nodded and Michael opened up a window showing binary code. He typed for a moment, then stopped and the worled began to blur and shimmer. Finally, the world righted itself and they were standing in a field of flowers. Sinon looked around in amasement, then turned to a tree in the center. She walked over to it, Michael following, and sat beneath it, smiling. Michael sat beside her and she leaned on his shoulder.

"It's beautiful," Sinon smiled.

"Yes it is," Michael smiled. "And our group and our group alone is now capable of accessing it from their menu."

Sinon smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around Michael and sighing. Michael rested his head on Sinon's and closed his eyes. After a bit, Sinon drifted off and a minute later her avatar was logged out. Then, Michael logged himself out and went to bed.

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	45. Chapter 45

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Die Hards

Michael walked out of the inn and stopped. There were exactly five Laughing Coffin Members in front of him. On, was a recreation of Red-Eyed XaXa, one was a recreation of Johnny Black who had been the other person working with XaXa and Sinkawa, and one was Archon.

"What the fuck?" Michael snarled. "I killed one of you and two of you are in prison."

"True," Archon nodded stepping forward. "But, this is simply an avatar. And this avatar happens to be extremely strong. Now, it's showtime."

"Mother fucker!" Michael snapped. "PoH? You're playing as Archon now? God damnit!"

XaXa darted forward, slashing at Michael with his estoch and Michael swept it aside then kicked him, knocking him backward before leaping backward as Johnny Black slashed through the space he had occupied.

"This is a nice fucking surprise," Michael snarled. "Ambushed by the leaders of old Laughing Coffin."

He spun, blocking a meat cleaver and dagger, held by PoH. Then, he spun, shoving PoH away and stabbing at XaXa only for XaXa to block it and Johnny Black to slash him. Michael leapt away, poison eating away at his life and the extra member leapt at Michael, slamming a massive warhammer into his face, launching him.

"Bastard," Michael spat, pushing himself up.

The extra appeared behind Michael but Michael raised his foot, blocking the hammer then spun, slahing the player and removing his head. Then, he spun, blocking PoH and XaXa's blades before jumping back from Johnny Black. Just as Michael landed, the last one appeared and Michael blocked a silver arming sword and stared at the same Laughing Coffin member who had been Michael's first kill in SAO. The member shoved him away and grinned, following, raising his sword.

"Not a repeat this time," Michael snorted.

He stepped forward, sweeping the player's sword aside before slashing him diagonally across the chest. He staggered back and Michael lunged, stabbing at him only for PoH to sweep it aside, Johnny Black stabbing at him from the other side. Michael swore, leaping to the side but suffering a scratch in his side that infected him with poison again. Michael spun, slashing at him and Johnny Black jumped back before XaXa stabbed Michael from behind. He pulled his sword free and Michael staggered to the side, falling onto his side as the three Laughing Coffin members stood over him.

"Damn," Michael smirked. "Looks like you got me."

"Of course," PoH laughed. "We're better than you."

"I wouldn't say that," Michael smirked. "You just ambushed me is all."

Johnny Black raised his knife. Just as he moved to stab Michael, Kirito crashed into him, hurling him away. Johnny Black flipped, landing on his feet. Then, he sprinted forward, slashing at Kirito. Michael pushed himself up just before a green aura appeared around him, healing him. Then, Klein and Asuna arrived, charging at Johnny Black who was fighting Kirito with XaXa. Kirito turned on XaXa, charging at him while Michael charged at PoH. PoH smirked, knocking the blade aside and punched Michael, hurling Michael backward. Michael landed on his back and Kirito landed beside him.

"Yours stronger than you thought too?" Kirito sked.

"Maybe," Michael grumbled standing. "It is Archon's avatar with PoH inside."

Kirito nodded, also standing and equipping a second sword, this one with a black "Y" shaped grip and guard and a blue blade with a matching blue gem se into the handle at the base of the blade. Then, he charged again, attacking XaXa with both.

"Well he's gone," Michael snorted just as Johnny Black shattered and Klein and Asuna rushed over to Michael's side.

PoH laughed and charged, slashing at Michael. Michael blocked it and Klein and Asuna both slashed at him, only barely missing. PoH spun, kicking Klein aside then caught Asuna's sword with his free hand. Asuna's eyes widened as PoH pulled his cleaver back.

"Fuck you!" Michael snapped, stabbing at him.

PoH spun past the blade, hurling Asuna then raised the cleaver upside down, blocking both of Kirito's swords. XaXa leapt up behind Kirito slashing at him but Kirkto spun, slashing his sword aside then stabbing him with his sword glowing blue, a massive chunk of ice exploding out of XaXa's back before shattering, along with XaXa. Michael slashed at PoH and PoH blocked it, ducking as Klein's flaming sword passed over him.

"Damn," Klein swore just as PoH's foot crashed into his chest, launching him.

Asuna stepped up next, stabbing rapidly at Poh and Poh avoided the strikes before slashing Asuna across thechest. Her health dropped to red but her armor had no wound mark on it.

"What the..." Asuna blinked before groaning. "It ignores armor!"

"Son of a bitch!" Michael growled. "You would have a cheap trick like that."

PoH laughed and Michael and Kirito charged from opposite sides. PoH spun, knocking all three swords away then raised his foot, kicking the bottom of Klein's sword's buttcap, launching the sword.

"Bastard!" Klein swore.

PoH slashed him then grabbed his arm, hurling him into Michael and Kirito began to attack him. After a minute, PoH slashed him across the chest. A second later, Michael stepped forward, activating his OSS. PoH managed to block three slashes but the fourth tore through PoH's torso and it continued from there. When Michael finished, PoH staggered away then grinned, lunging forward and raising his cleaver. Just before it hit, an arrow burried itself in his face and his avatar shattered. Michael sighed, standing and looking back at Sinon. Then, he ducked under a cleaver as PoH reformed and attacked instantly.

"You bastard!" Michael spat leaping away. "What the fuck?"

"You mean you don't know?" PoH asked. "Of all people? Ha! It should be obvious, I hired a hacker."

"Oh fuck that then," Michael snorted, pulling up his menu and swiping sideways, pulling a screan of code up. "Anything he can hack, I can hack better."

Michael began to type at his screen and Kirito and Klein charged at PoH. Michael's screen flashed red and a chat box opened.

"He's hacked," Michael stated. "I'm unhacking this time."

Just as his avatar began to blur, the chat box vanished and his avatar solidified itself. Then, Michael continued.

"On good terms with the GM are we?" PoH asked, slashing past Kirito, Klein, Asuna, and Sinon and leaping at Michael.

Eugene landed in front of Michael, blocking the cleaver.

"Thank you," Michael smirked.

Then, he closed out of the window, standing as PoH leapt back.

"He should be manigable now," Michael stated. "Would you care to do the honors?"

Eugene grinned, stepping forward and slashing. PoH moved to block his sword and the sword passed through the cleaver, splitting PoH in half, killing him.

"There," Eugene smirked. "Good thing he didn't know about my sword. Who was it?"

"The leader of the original Laughing Coffin," Michael stated. "And a guy who hired a hacker to cheat for him."

Eugene nodded and they all turned toward the next dungeon, flying into the air and leaving the city behind.

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	46. Chapter 46

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

New Mission

Michael took a sip from his coffee and looked at the news feed regarding ALfheim Online. Instantly, coffee sprayed out of his mouth.

"Excaliber?" Michael gaped, scanning the article before sighing. "Oh. They only know where it is. I was worried for a second there. I bet Kirito's going after it today then. Alright. I'm game."

Just then, his phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hello Kirito," Michael grinned. "When are we going after Excaliber?"

"In a little bit," Kirito said. "A while back, me and Sugu found something that can get us to the dungeon. However, it can only carry seven people. And you make eight."

"I take it we can't fly there?" Michael guessed.

"No," Kirito confirmed.

"We'll figure it out," Michael said. "I'll see you at Agil's."

"Okay," Kirito said hanging up.

Michael smirked and counted their friends. If he was eight, that meant one of the others was staying behind. Most likely it was Agil since Agil had to run his shop. Which meant that Shino would be going.

Michael logged onto his computer and then onto ALfheim Online, flying to Agil's shop and finding that everyone but Sinon was present. Asuna and Leafa left to restock on potions while Lisbeth began to work on everyone's weapons, restoring and strengthening them. As she worked, Sinon arrived and added her bow to the pile. Then, she sat down beside Michael and Michael grinned.

"You know, there's something I've been wanting to try," Michael smirked.

"What?" Sinon asked, no one else paying attention due to talking to Klein about his job.

Michael reached up and began to scratch the top of Sinon's head. She scowled at him.

"What do you think you'rrrrrrrrrrrr-" Sinon covered her mouth, silencing the unintentional purr.

Everyone stared at her for a moment before bursting into fits of laughted, Lisbeth falling to the floor and Silica following a moment later. Sinon's face turned crimson and Michael forced himself to stop, grinning apologetically.

"Sorry," Michael apologized. "I didn't think you'd actually purr."

"I hate you you jerrrrrrk," Sinon tried to say angrilly but it was ruined by another purr.

Michael snorted and covered his mouth, fighting the laughing fits as Kirito and the others began to laugh anew, causing Sinon's face to grow even more red.

"S-So Kirito," Michael spoke up deciding to change the subject for Sinon's sake. "What do I get for helping you get Excaliber?"

"What?" Kirito asked, stopping laughing instantly and the others stopping a moment later.

"I want the Soul Blade Kagetsuchi," Klein spoke up.

"But that dungeon is freakin' hot!" Kirito complained.

"And this dungeon is freakin' cold," Klein said.

"Then I want something too," Sinon stated. "The Shining Bow of Shekhinah."

"You've had your avatar for a week and you're already thirsting for legendary weapons?" Kirito gaped.

"She aims high," Michael shrugged. "She is dating me after all."

"We all have to settle for disappintment sometimes I suppose," Sinon smirked.

"Ouch," Michael said a the others laughed.

"We're back!" Leafa announced as she and Asuna walked in and began laying out potions.

"You say one word about it and you die," Sinon warned, glaring at all of them, especially Michael.

"While we were out, we gathered some information," Yui reported flying up and landing on Kirito's head. "It doesn't seem like anyone has made it to the dungeon yet. Actually, it seems like they found a separate quest to acquire it."

"Really?" Kirito blinked.

"Yes, but this quest seems pretty nasty," Asuna stated. "Rather than an errand or protection mission, it seems like a slaughter-type mission where you have to mow down monsters."

"That seems strange," Kirito said. "I could understand if it would help you reach the dungeon but..."

"I'll bet it's a bloodbath," Michael said.

"Yes," Asuna nodded.

"I'm done!" Lisbeth announced passing out the weapons. "And I made you a special surprise Michael. I think you might recognize it."

Michael raised an eyebrow as Lisbeth went into her menu. Then, a white, cross-shaped tower shield with a red cross inside it appeared in her hand and she held it out.

"Liberator," he blinked taking the shield.

"It's only a shield but I figured your Elucidator was strong enough that you wouldn't care," Lisbeth stated.

"Not in the slightest," Michael grinned. "Thanks."

"Alright, we should get going," Kirito said.

He left, leading them all to a hidden door with stairs leading downward. They began to run down the steps and after about a straight minute, it got old.

"How many steps are there?" Lisbeth complained.

"Taking the normal route would take two hours to get to Jotunheim," Kirito stated. "This path takes only five minutes. Instead of complaining about the steps you should be thanking be for showing you this rad shortcut."

"Yeah yeah, it's still a pain in the butt," Sinon stated.

"I got your pain in the butt," Kirito grinned, reaching for her tail.

Michael grabbed his wrist, stopping him from doing it.

"What?" Kirito asked.

"Juat truat me," Michael said. "Don't."

"Why?" Kirito asked.

Michael sighed and whispered, "It's the same as grabbing her butt."

Kirito's face darkened and he nodded, backing away from Sinon a bit. Michael snorted and moved to run beside her and she glanced over at him, giving him a thankful look.

"I see a light!" Silica finally cheered.

The slowed to a walk, stepping out onto a platform on the side of a stalaktite over Jotunheim. Jotunheim was a massive plain of rolling hills of ice and snow drifts. There were broken stone spires sticking up every so often and there was a massive chasm in the distance above, directly over the chasm was a single, inverted pyramid that was either a light-colored stone or ice. Around the pyramid were enormous roots, covering everything as far as Michael could see. Just before the roots was a layer of frost that had the apearance of clouds.

"I'm guessing the pyramid," Michael said pointing and looking to Kirito, who nodded.

"How do we get up there? Sinon asked.

Leafa whistled and a moment later there was a sound like an elephant, except distorted. They all looked down and a creature with six wings, a white body, tentacles below its body, and a strangely shaped elephant-like head called again as it flew up level with the platform.

"What is that?" Klein shouted backing away.

"He's an herbivore," Kirito promised as the creature, which Yui called Tonky, reached its trunk up and placed it on Klein's head, pressing down slighty.

"I think he wants us to get on his back," Michael grinned.

Tonkey removed his trunk, making the same sound as before. Everyone began climbing on, Kirito pushing Klein, but Tonkey backed away from the ledge before Michael could get on.

"What gives?" Michael asked.

"He can only carry seven," Kirito stated.

Tonkey looked down and called out. After a moment, there was a second, higher-pitched response and Tonkey called again, seeming agitated.

Michael looked down and could just barely see a second of Tonkey's species being attacked by a massive greyish brown thing that looked like a giant.

"You want me to save that one," Michael summarized.

Tonkey made his usual noise and Michael drew his sword and shield, leaning forward then plummeting off the ledge at the giant. As he fell, he realized there were dozens of the elephant creatures being attacked by giants, and also by players. The creature below him was being assaulted by a mix of Undines and Salamanders. Michael angled his body at the giant and when he reached it, he slashed it down the front, making it stagger away and stopping an attack.

Michael then spun, throwing a healing crystal at the elephant thing and healing it.

"Who the hell are you!?" One of the Salamanders demanded.

"I'm the guy who's not letting you kill this thing," Michael stated.

An Undine fired a lightning bolt at him and he rolled aside, the lightning bolt blasting the giant instead. When Michael stood, he spun, his shield smashing a spear before his Elucidator slashed the player, killing him. The Undine revived the player instantly and Michael spun holding his sword out. It glowed blue for a moment before he rocketted forward, blasting through the Undine, killing them. He spun, leaping at the other three Undines, who were all wielding katanas, and slashed at one. He blocked it, and another slashed at Michael. Michael blocked it with his shield and grinned. He pivoted and the katana on his shield stabbed into the third Undine as the first Undine's katana stabbed the second. Then, Michael stepped out of the way of a Salamander's spear and it impLed the Undine.

"Damnit!" the Salamander swore just before Michael slashed it.

Then, he ducked as the giant's sword flashed over him, mowing down the last few Salamanders. Michael turned toward it and ginned.

"You're a big bastard aren't you?" Michael grinned. "Aught to be fun."

The giant pulled its arm back and an arrow stuck into its shoulder, making it stop and look up. Tonkey was about a hundred meters away and Sinon was already readying another arrow. The giant roared and the arrow went down its throat. Michael grinned and sprinted forward, readying his OSS. Attack after attack tore into the giant, dropping its health rapidly. After the final hit, the giant picked Michael up, a sliver of health left but just enough to survive. Just as the giant was about to eat Michael, the elephant creature Michael had protected crashed into the giant, freeing Michael. The giant roared, driving two of its four swords into the creature, nearly killing it. Then, Michael blasted through the giant's abdomen and it shattered. Asuna instantly healed the creature and it reached down, using one of its tentacles to lift Michael onto its back. Then, it flew up next to Tonkey.

Just as it arrived, a huge ball of light began to shine behind them, over Tonkey. When the light faded, it left a woman who was almost double their height. She had long blonde hair parting at the end into what almost looked like tentacles hanging down to her feet, a blue dress, had a silver ring floating around her shoulders with the front missing, making it a "C", and a silver circlet crown.

"She's gigantic," Klein breathed.

"I am the Queen of the Lake, Urd," she stated. "Oh fairies who have bonded with me kinsmen, my two younger sisters and I have a request to make of you. We ask you to save this land from the Frost Giant tribe's attack."

"Daddy, this person is an NPC," Yui stated. "But, it's strange. Unlike a normal NPC, her speech patterns don't adhere to the fixed-response routine. She's connected to a language module, which is close in scale to a core program."

"She's an AI," Michael stated. "She, along with this mission, were created by the Cardinal System to keep players entertained. Though, I don't know why it created an AI."

"In the past, Jotunheim, lime your ALfheim, once received the blessings of Yggdrasil," Urd continued. "It was covered in beautiful water and greenery. We, the Hill Giant tribe and the beasts who are our kinfolk lived in harmony. Further below Jotunheim, a world of Ice, Niflheim exists. This land is ruled by the king of the Frost Giant tribe, Thrymr, who took the 'sword that slices through all steel and trees' Excaliber, hurling it into Urd's Spring in the center of this realm. The sword severed the deepest roots of the World Tree, and in that instant, Jotunheim lost the blessings it had been receiving from Yggdrasil. The spring froze and rose to the sky with the roots."

"Explains a little," Michael mumbled to himself, glancing up at the perfect pyramid.

"The Frost Giant tribe, under Thrymr's rule, advanced on Jotunheim from Niflheim in full force, built a great number of castles and fortresses, and captured many of us from the Hill Giant tribe, imprisoning us," Urd stated. "Out of the mass of ice that had once been Urd's Spring, they built a massive castle, Thrymheim, and seized control of this land. My two sisters and I escaped to the bottom of a frozen lake, but we no longer have the power we once did. The Frost Giant tribe was not satisfied, and are trying to annihilate our kin, the beasts who've survived in this land to this day. By doing so, my power will be completely extinguished and allow Thrymheim to rise to ALfheim above it."

"W-What?" Klein gaped. "But, by doing so the city of Arun would be destroyed!"

"Thrymr's objective is to seal ALfheim on ice and snow," Urd stated. "And to attack until he reaches the top of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, in order to obtain the Golden Apple said to grow there. Frustrated by their inability to wipe out our kinfolk, Thrymr and the generals of the Frost Giant tribe have begun to use even the power of you Fairies. Luring you in with the promise of Excalibur as a reward, he is trying to make you hunt our kinfolk into extinction. However, it is impossible for Thrymr to bestow Excalibur upon others. For once Thrymheim loses Excaliber, the blessings of Yggdrasil will return to this land, and that castle will melt away."

"Huh?" Lisbeth gasped. "Y-You mean, offering Excalibur for a reward, that's all a lie? Is that type of quest even allowed?"

"Most likely, Thrymr plans to bestow the Forged Sword Caliburn, which looks exactly like Excaliber, instead," Urd said.

"Th-That's so unfair," Leafa said. "Can a king even do something so unfair?"

"That very unfairness is Thrymr's most powerful weapon," Urd stated. "However, he has made one mistake. In order to gain the Fairies support, he has sent most of the giants under his control from Thrymheim to down on the ground. At this time, the castle's defenses are thinner than they're ever been before."

Urd held out her hand an a ball of light appeared. It turned into a necklace with a glowing green stone set into a gold pendant. It floated down to Leafa who caught it.

"When this rock turns completely pitch black, our kinfolk will have been hunted to extinction," Urd stated. "And it will serve as proof that my power has vanished. Oh fairies, please infiltrate Thrymheim and extract Excalibur from its main plinth."

Just then, the words, "QUEST ACCEPTED", appeared over Urd and the words "QUEST START" appeared infront of Michael and the others.

"I'm counting on you, O fairies," Urd said.

Then, she disappeared in a flash of light and Tonkey and the other elephant thing flew them up toward Thrymheim.

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	47. Chapter 47

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Chill Out

Michael continued walking through the deserted corridor but his mind was on Yui's warning. She had informed then that the cardinal system running ALfheim Online was able to generate quests as Michael had guessed earlier, but also that the Cardinal System had authority to destroy its maps, since the original's job was to destroy the original Aincrad. She had then told them that the Cardinal System may someday create a mission from the legends of Ragnarok, which involved the world being destroyed.

They stopped outside the door to the boss room for that level of the pyramid. According to Yui, there were three levels, two of which had bosses. Michael pushed the door open and they walked in, finding a pair of minotaurs waiting. One was black and the other gold, both wielding a massive war axe.

"Alright," Michael sighed drawing his sword but leaving his shield away for the moment. "Who wants what?"

As if in answer, the black minotaur sprinted forward, leaping and slashing at Sinon. Michael stepped in front of her, raising his shield and blocking his axe, knearly falling to his knees under the force of the blow. Kirito and Klein sprinted forward, both using an ability and slashing the minotaur up the front, forcing it back and taking a large chunk of its health. Michael sprinted forward, leaping into the air and smashing his glowing shield into the minotaur. The pointnof impact exploded and the minoraur flew backward and crashed into the wall, health already in the yellow. As it stood, a swarm of arrows hit it, dropping its health to red. The minotaur roared, smashing its axe into the ground and sat down, beginning to glow green as the yellow minotaur walked forward.

"He's healing," Michael stated. "So that's how this is going to go huh? Fine, we'll kill this one then finish the other one."

Michael sprinted forward, slashing the minotaur across the stomach and Kirito stepped off his back, slashing it up the front. Leafa slashed it across its side and Klein slashed opposite her. Then, Kiito dropped behind it, slashing it down the back. All four leap away and the minotaur roared, barely a noticeable amount of health taken. Michael glanced at the othwr Minotaur, now in yellow again, and Sinon fired an arrow at it. The yellow minotaur blocked the arrow with its hand and then made a fist, breaking the arrow and roaring. He raised his axe, which glowed with lightning and Yui shouted about a shockwve attack, counting it down until itnwent off. The minotaur slammed his axe down, a shockwave shooting out and blasting everyone except Sinon and Asuna.

Asuna healed them all as the minotaur charged. It slashed at Kirito and he blocked it, uing both of his swords.

"Kirito, at this rate, my MP will be depleted in one hundred fifty seconds," Asuna shouted.

"Kirito, the medallion," Leafa said. "It's already seventy percent black. We won't have time to start kver from the save point."

"Alright," Kirito sighed. "Since it's come to this, there's only one thing we can do. Everyone attack with a magic type sword skill. Hopefully that'll be enough."

Everyone nodded and Kirito instructed Silica to use an ability Michaeldidn't recognize on his command. As the Minotaur pulled his arm back, Kirito gave the order and Silica passed the command to Pina. Pina shrieked then exhaled a stream of bubbles at the minotaur. As they popped around its ead, its eyes drooped and it stopped moving, now in a daze.

"Go!" Kirito shouted.

Everyone readied a skill and charged. Klein jumped and slashed its face with a fire skill, the slash exploding. Next, Leafa jumped and hit its attacking arm with a wind skill, followed by a lightning skill to the right knee from Lisbeth, an ice skill to the back from Silica, and an Ice arrow from Sinon.

Michael stepped forward, slashing the Minotaur across the back and a blast of wind scythes exploded out of its chest. Then, Kirito attacked. His skill was a flury of slashes with a flaming sword, followed by a slash down the front, then Kirito leapt into the air and slash back down, the sword splitting the minotaur down the front. A moment later, the gash exploded and the minotaur staggered backward. Michael grinned, trying to move as the moment when movement was not possible at the end of an ability should have worn off. Unfortunately, he couldn't move a muscle.

"Why can't I move?" Michael asked.

"The temperature here extends the movement penalty," Yui stated. "Sorry, should have mentioned that."

Just as the minotaur began to move, the flames on Kirito's right sword faded and the left began to glow blue. Everyone watched in amazement as he slashed the minotaur, sword stopping halfway before he twisted it so the edge was upward then pushed it deeper. A mass of ice eploded out of the minotaur's back then shattered and Kirito ripped the sword upward out of the minotaur, turning away as he did and causing a second mass of ice to explode out of it's front. Then, Kirito's right sword glowed orang and he spun, slashing the minotaur four times before a box of four slash trails shot out, one orange, one white, one green, and one blue. As Kirito began the ability, movement returned for the others and Michael sprinted forward with the others.

Kirito began to charge another attack as the others sprinted forward, each using the same element ability as before. Michael was the exception, leaping into the air and stabbing the minotaur downward through the head, fire exploding out the bottoms of its feet. Then, Michael flipped to the ground feeling his body go ridgid again. Sinon sprinted forward, flipping and jumping onto the minotaur's back and releasing a point blank ice arrow, a mass of ice exploding out of its chest then shattering. Finally, Kirito sprinted forward, stabbing the minotaur and causing a fireball to explode out of the minotaur's back, igniting the ground around himself and the minotaur. Then, Kirito leapt back, finally growing still. They watched as the minotaur's health fell until there was barely a sliver left. Then, it stopped.

Everyone sucked in breath as the minotaur straughtened, glaring at them. Juat as it drew its arm back, Asuna leapt over Kirito, driving her rapier into its chest rapidly. She landed and spun, driving it into its stomach and a column of light shot up around the minotaur. As the light began to fade, the black minotaur stood. Then, juat as it lifted its axe, the gold minotaur shattered. The black minotaur looked at the others who were able to move again and Klein grinned.

"Alright you chump," Klein grinned. "On your knees, now."

They all charged, slashing it then leaping out of the next person's way. When Michael reached the minotaur, he slashed it on the way up, flipped, the dlashed it back down its back. The minotaur roared then shattered. They all sighed and the word "CONGRATULATIONS" appeared over them.

They all cheared and Michael sorted through his winnings, nothing that interested him, while Klein walked over to Kirito.

"What was that just now?" Klein asked.

"Do I have to say?" Kirito asked.

"Yes!" Klein stated. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"It was an Outside-System skill, Skill Connect," Kirito stated. "You know how sword skills got added to ALfheim Online last update, but unique skills lime dual wielding and Holy Blade didn't get implemented?"

"Yeah but just now you slashed with both hands," Klein stated.

"That wasn't dual wielding," Kirito stated. "I activated my one handed skills ith each hand alternately. Although, I can only keep it going without any lag three or four times if I'm lucky."

"You know, I just had a total deja vu moment," Asuna stated.

"It's just your imagination," Kirito stated. "Come on, let's keep going."

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	48. Chapter 48

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Thrymr

Michael watched the massive centipede giant hybrid shatter and sighed. One room before the dungeon boss, there was a boss. Very nice. But, it was dead now so all that was left was a short hallway and they'd be at the boss's door. They ran through the hallway but stopped short. There was a small cell off to the right of the door. And there was a beautiful woman kneeling inside. She wore a beautiful tan dress, a circlet in her light green hair, and shackles on her feet and ankles. Michael could swear he heard Klein's jaw hit the ground.

"Please," the woman said looking over at them. "Let me out of here."

Klein began forward but Kirito caught him.

"It's a trap," Kirito said.

"It's a trap," Lisbeth agreed.

"It's totally a trap," Sinon nodded.

"Which just means more fun and experience for us," Michael shrugged walking over to stand beside Klein.

"Uh right, it's a trap, right," Klein said, clearly disagreeing.

"What do you think Yui," Kirito asked.

"She's an NPC, just like Urd she's attached to a language engine module," Yui stated. "However, there's just one difference. This person has an HP guage."

"If she has HP, we could be in for a fight," Kirito stated.

The others all agreed one at a time that it was a trap.

"Of course, it might not be a trap, but we can't afford to take any detours now," Kirito stated, for Klein's sake. "We need to get to Thrymr's room, even if it's just a second sooner."

"Uh...yeah," Klein nodded. "You're right."

They all turned running along the hallway again, passing the cell.

"Please...somebody," the girl pleaded. "Please!"

After a moment, Kein sopped, the others doing the same.

"Make it quick," Michael urged him

Klein blinked then nodded, sprinting back and slashing the bars, destroying then then kneeling.

"Thank you, Fairy Swordsman," she smiled.

"Can you stand?" Klein asked making everyone roll their eyes. "You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, beginning to stand but then collapsing dramatically.

"She's playing him,"Michael sighed.

"Mhm," Kirito nodded.

"Hey easy," Klein said. "It a ways back to the exit, but can you leave on your own?"

"I can't just escape the castle like this," she said. "Not until I take back my tribe's treasure that was stolen by Thrymr, King of the giants. Please...won't you take me with you to Thrymr's room?"

"Oh boy," Michael sighed. "Either we have one hell of a boss fight coming up, or a new ally."

"Um, Kirito?" Klein spoke up.

"Wha...oh fine," Kirito sighed. "It's not like we all know it's a trap anyway."

"Fifty bucks says it's a trap," Michael whispered.

"Not betting against you," Kirito stated.

She hugged Klein for allowing her to come along and Kirito pressed accept when a box opened asking if he'd allow it.

"Freyja," Kirito mused. "Her MP is really high. Is she a mage type?"

They all turned and hurried down the next flight of stairs, which was lit by glowing diamons and cubes floating over upside down pyramids of stone. Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairs and found themselves at the door. It swung open and a blast of cold air rushed out. Asuna reniewed their buffs and suddenly Freyja began to chant. They turned toward her just as she finished and their MAX HP bare increased by almost fifty percent.

"I've never heard of a spell that can raise your MAX HP before," Silica marvelled.

"I'm glad she's here," Michael smirked. "Let's go."

They all walked into the room, through a fog of frozen air until they could see Thrymr. He was a humanoid with blue skin and hair a messy blue beard and mustache, a white tunic, black boots, black gauntlets, a blue cape, and a gold crown. They all gaped up at him as they weren't even up to his knee.

"Oh shit," Michael breathed.

"Little insects of ALfheim, were you seduced by Urd to burrow all the way down here?" Thrymr asked. "Well, how about this. If you tell me where I can find that woman, I'll give you all the gold from this room you can carry."

"A samurai gafaws even when starving!" Klein spoke up. "Did you think you could trick me with such a pointless trick as that?"

He drew his sword and the others did the same. Michael looked around the room, seeing a dozen golden or guilded weapons lying around the room but nothint that might pass as Caliburn or Excalibur.

"Oh, is that you Lady Freyja?" Thrymr asked. "If you've emerged from that cage, then perhapse you've made up your mind to become my bride?"

"Did he say bride?" Klein demanded.

"Indeed," Thrymr smirked. "That young lady came to this castle to become my wife. But the night before the banquet, she tried to snoop around my treasure vault, so as punishment, I locked her inside an ice cage."

"Who are you calling your future wife?" Freyja demanded. "Since it's come to this, these swordsmen and I will defeat you and take back what you stole from me!"

Thrymr laughed, scratching his chin.

"That's the spirit," Thrymr laughed. "Juat what I'd expect from Lady Freyja, whose beauty and valor are known all the way to the ends of the earth. However, they say the more eautiful the flower, the more satisfying it will be to snap it. After I've wrung the life out of these insects, I'll be sure to shower you in extra affection."

Thrymr began to laugh, the sound rumbling the entire room.

"Not going to happen!" Klein snapped. "I, Lord Klein, will not allow you to lay a finger on Lady Freyja!"

"Ah, I can hear the buzzing of their wings," Thrymr sneered. "What do you say? As an advance celebration for taking all of J9tunheim as my own, why don't I start by demolishing you?"

The lights came on and Thrymr's health bars appeared.

"Listen to Yui's instructions!" Kirito shouted. "For the first phase, do nothing but evade!"

Everyone agreed and Thrymr took a step forward, throwing a punch much faster than his size would suggest. Michael stepped up in front of the others, raising his shield. The fist crashed into it and stopped, a shockwave flying off of the impact. The others sprinted around Michael and attacked. When Thrymr backed away, Michael sprinted forward, using the same explosive shield skill he had hit the black minotaur with. Thrymr fell onto his rear and Michael flew backward. Sinon caught him and set him on his feet as Thrymr began to stand.

"Sorry, I don't evade well," Michael stated.

"Two punches in a row," Yui warned.

Thrymr leapt into the air, punching at them as he fell but they avoided it. Then, as they were all descending, Thrymr appeared out of the dust and punched Kirito blasting him back into the ground. Michael sprinted up the wall, leaping off of it just before his wall run ability timed out. He rocketed toward Trymr, who turned toward him. He activated his OSS, the sword tearing theough his face again and again rapidly. Then, juat before the final attack hit, Thrymr's hand flashed up, backhanding Michael and launching him away. Michael groaned, pushing himself up and sighed.

"So close," Michael grumbled.

Sinon fired a flaming arrow, hitting Thrymr in the back of the head just before Klein leapt into the air, slashing Thrymr across the back, the gash exploding a moment later. Leafa sprinted forward, jumping and slashing Thrym's leg four times on the way up. Then, Kirito sprinted forward. Befre he. Could get there, Yui warned them that Thrymr would use Ice Breath, and Thrymr leapt into the air.

Yui counted down and the moment she said zero, Thrymr released a stream of frozen hair. Kirito and the others leapt aside but as the attack progressed outward, Freyja raised her hand, a ball of purpple lightning forming over herm then, she swiped her hand down at Thrymr and the ball turned into a bolt of lighting, flashing through the air and hitting the giant king, lighting him up and ending his attack early. When the electricity was gone, Thrymr fell, crashing to the ground. As he stood, Michael, Leafa, and Klein charged. Leafa leapt into the air, slashing and sending an arch of compressed air slicing through Thrymr. Then, Kirito and Klein slashed his shin, the gashes exploding and depleating his first of three health bars. Thrymr stood, roaring in anger.

"The pattern's changing!" Kirito warned. "Watch your backs."

"Not looking good brother!" Leafa shouted. "Only three lights left!"

"Two of them are currently flying around," Michael reminded her. "We've still got time!"

Thrymr began to inhale, debris flying into his mouth from all around the room and the force threatening to pull Michael and the others in. Then, Thrymr opened his mouth and exhaled a massive wall of subzero air. It hut their barriers, which held for a minute before shattering.

"It's no good!" Leafa said. "The buff! Big Bro-"

She was cut off by ice encasing her. Kirito turned back to Thrymr as ice began to encase him as well, starting from the feet and rising.

"Not good!" Michael shouted, his shield partially blocking the wind but now encased in ice, along with his shield arm.

Finally it ended with them all being frozen solid. Then, Thrymr stomped and the shockwave shattered all of the ice before blasting them and launching them, dealing a massive amount of damage. Michael crashed down hard and looked down at his shield before his eyes widened. His shield and shield arm were both gone, the arm missing just above the elbow.

"Fuck me," he grumbled, puahing himself up and raising his sword. "I liked that shield."

Asuna healed all of them but the spell only brought them up to yellow and Michael began to slowly loose health instantly from the bleeding status ailment that accompanied losing a limb. The game's glowing reddish-pink blood similation slowly leaked out of his wound and then shattered after lying on the ground for a moment.

"Everyone, run!" Asuna shouted.

Thrymr raised his foot but before he could stomp on them, Sinon fired an arrow that caught fire then split into a dozen fireballs. They all hit Thrym's face, exploding and forcing him back. He began to sprint at Sinon and Kirito shouted for her to keep him busy for a few seconds. Thrymr swiped at her but she jumped up, kicking him in the nose then leaping off. Michael sprinted forward, slashing the side of Thryme's foot and he shouted in pain, lifting it. Sinon fired another explosive arrow into Thrymr's face, forcing him backward.

Michael sprinted forward, raising his sword and flying forward, aiming to blast through Thrymr's leg. At the last second, Thrymr lifted his leg, and Michael shot past below it.

"Excuse me Mister Swordsman," Freyja addressed Kirito. "At this rate, our chances of defeating Thrymr are nil. We have but one chance. My tribe's secret treasure burried somewhere in this room."

"Alright, so what kind of hammer is it?" Kirito asked.

"It's about so big," Freyja said, holding her hands a little more than a foot apart. "A golden hammer."

"H-Hammer?" Kirito stammered.

Michael rolled under Thrymr's fist as Sinon leapt away from his foot. Michael's health reached red and Asuna healed him again, bringing it back up to high yellow, and Michael's sword glowed blue as he leapt up beside Thrymr's lef, slicing it open. Ice exploded out of both sides then shattered and Michael landed beside Thrymr's foot before Thrymr staggered backward, Sinon peppering his face with fire arrows.

"Brother, use a lightning ability," Leafa said as they faced an enormous mound of treasure.

"Lightning?" Kirito blinked then shook his head, leaping into the air and doing a backflip.

As he landed, he drove his swords into the ground in an "X", the right one glowing purple and sending lightning out into the treasure, lighting it all up. After a moment, the lightning faded and something in the mound flashed. Kirito glanced to Leafa who nodded and Kirito sprinted forward, reaching out to dig into the pile just as Michael crashed into it, the pile collapsing. Michael ended up on top ot the pile with a large golden hammer lying in his lap. The hammer had a solid cylinder handle and a box-type head.

Kirito tried to pick it up but it was much, much heavier than it looked. Michael looked down as it then up at Kirito who was struggling to lift it. He tried to stand but the hammer was immobile. Kirito gripped it wihmth both hands and the hammer began to slowly rise.

"Freyja!" Kirito shouted. "Here you go!"

He spun, hurling the hammer through the air toward Freyja and she caught it one-handed as though it were weightless. Michael blinked at her reaction as she stared at the hammer. Then, he stood and sprinted at Thrymr, who was still trying to kill Sinon. Then, the hammer began to glow and she doubled over, beginning to mutter to herself.

"Freyja!" Klein shouted before leaping aside from a punch from Thrymr.

Suddenly, Freyja began to scream, her voice distorted, and light and lightning began to fly off. Her dress exploded off as she began to grow and mutate. A moment later, green smoke shot up around the person and then blew away, leaving a massive man with a brown cape, long messy brown hair, a messy brown beard and mustache, a gold circlet, and furry brown boots. The man turned around, holding the golden hammer, which had grown in proportion to its wielder.

"Thor," Michael gaped, looking at the name above the health bar. "The God of Thunder. Oh boy."

Thrymr turned toward Thor and Michael stabbed his sword into the ground, entering his menu and getting out a healing crystal, healing himself and restoring his arm. He picked his sword back up and looked up at the two giant men. Thor swung his hammer, which Michael assumed must be Mjolnir, at Thrymr but Thrymr formed a waraxe and blocked it. Then, Thor's free fist crashed into Thrymr's face. Thrymr returned the favor and growled in annoyance.

"You shady excuse for a God," Thrymr snarled. "How dare you deceive me? I'll rip that beard off your face and send you back to Asgard!"

The two giants began to fight and Michael grinned. This was the prlerfect opportunity to beat Thrymr. And Sinon seemed to agree because she shouted for everyone to attack Thrymr. Klein was first, shouting "Freyja" as he attacked's Thrymr's leg. Asuna was next, jabbing Thrymr rapidly in the achilles tendon. Then, Lisbeth slammed a lightning skill into the side of his foot before Silica leapt to the ceiling then back down, slashing Thrymr on the way past. Thrymr fell to one knee and Kirito and Michael sprinted forward the others following.

Michael grinned sword glowing red and slashed The bottom of Thrymr's foot, then darted around ro Thrymr's right, slashing the side of his foot, then to thrymr's front, slashing his toes and knee, then to his left, slashing along the side of his shin. Then, he leapt back as a square of flaming slash trails blasted of of Thrymr, all cutting through Thrymr like blades then exploring around him. Kirito began to use Skill Connect on Thrymr as the ithers all blasted Thrymr with any ability they could think of. Finally they backed away and Thor stepped forward.

"Go back to the abyss King of the Giants!" Thor shouted, smashing Mjolnir down on Thrymr's head. After a moment, Thrymr's crown shattered and Thrymr began to laugh.

"Gloat while you can, you insignificant bugs," Thrymr chuckled as he began to freeze. "But trust the Æsir Tribe and you'll-"

He stopped when Thor's foot crashed down on his head, shattering him.

"I thank you, fairy swordsmen," Thor spoke up. "Because of you, the disgrace of having my treasure stolen from me has been erased. Now then, I must reward you."

He held his hand over Mjolnir and a gemstone rose out of it, shining blindingly bright. It fell to Klein, transforming into a smaller, much lighter Mjolnir as it fell.

"The Lightning Hammer Mjolnir," Thor said. "Use it for righteous battles. Now, fairwell."

Then, he lifted his hammer and it began to shine blindingly bright. When the light faded he was gone. A moment later, his health bar disappeared from their party list.

"You got a legendary weapon," Kirito said, resting a hand on Klein's shoulder as the others sorted their their winnings, Michael disappointed to not have gotten a new shield.

"My hammer-wielding skills are, like, nonexistant," Klein complained.

Just then, the pyramid began to shake, bits of ice falling from the elceiling and landing around them.

"It's moving!" Sinon shouted. "Are we too late?"

Leafa looked at the medallion and sighed.

"Brother, it looks like the quest isn't over!" Leafa shouted. "There are two left."

Kirito nodded and they turned, sprinting to the stairs and down to the last level. There, in the center of the room, the last few incbes of the blade buried in ice, rested Excalibur. Kirito stared at it for a moment before beginning to lift. The ice groaned but didn't give.

"Keep going Kirito," Asuna said.

"You're almost there!" Leafa said.

"For the love of..." Michael groaned drawing his sword.

He walked over, activating a fire skill and blasting the ice with it. Thw ice steamed and weakened, shattering and allowing Kirito to take the sword.

"Oh...um...I knew that," Kirito said as the girls gave them a deadpan look, unable to believe thwy hadn't thought of that.

Just then, roots began to grow around them, destroying the stairs and shattering the thin sheets of ice serving as floor to ceiling windows. The pyramid began to shake violently and roots reached down from above. Suddenly, the central collum snapped and the small chunk they were on dropped several feet, the thins ice pices on the corners breaking as a single root supported it.

"Oh no," Michael groaned as the sound of straining wood reached them.

Then, the root exploded and the chunk fell. They all held on but the others stopped screaming after a couple minutes of falling.

"Did we make it?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Leafa nodded. "There are two left."

"That's something at least," Michael sighed.

"Did you hear that?" Leafa asked.

Michael listened and could swear he heard an elephant. He and Leafa both stood, looking around until they saw the source.

"Tonkey!" Leafa shouted.

Both of the two elephant creatures were flying toward them. Michael smirked and looked to the others. The two creatures got as close as they could and they began to jump over onto Ynokey while Michael jumped onto the one Michael had saved. The chunk of ice near Michael's crumbled and it moved away from the chunk. Kirito looked down at the sword and Michael realized what was keeping him from jumping. Excaliber was too heavy to equip, so it was incurring a movement penalty since it wasn't in his menu. After a momwnt, Kirito spun, hurling the sword and then jumped onto Tonkey. After a moment, Sinon stepped over, pulling out her bow and drawing an arrow. Michael judged Tonkey was roughly two hundred meters away from the sword and grinned. Anyone else would never be able to hit it.

Sinon chanted a quick spell then released her arrow, which left a glowing blue trail in its wake. The trail began to condensce into a rope from Sinon and heading toward the arrow itself. Sinon caught the rope just as the arrow hit the sword, turning into a glowing blue orb, stuck to the sword. Sinnon yanked the rope, pulling it rapidly and dragging Excalibur back to herself.

"That's my girl," Michael grinned as his ride began to fly over to Sinon. "Now I remember why I don't make you mad too much. God I hope she's forgiven me for that purring thing earlier."

Just as Michael's ride reached Tonkey, Sinon caught the sword and nearly dropped it from its weight.

"Whoa, heavy," Sinon muttered. "Don't give me that look. You can have it. I'm not a sword fighter."

She handed it to him then jumped over to Michael and turned back to the others. Just then, the last of the pyramid fell away and roots began to reach down toward the ground again. Water burst up from the pit, filling it in minutes, just in time for the roots to reach the water and spread out over it, stopping at the edge then spreading plantlife back to the no longer frozen land.

Within minutes, the land was beautiful and green again and the sun was shining through a gap somewhere in ALfheim. Just then, they heard several elephant calls. They looked down and their eyes widened. Dozens of Tonkey's species now dotted the land. Suddenly, Urd appeared before them.

"I see you've fulfilled your mission flawlessly," Urd stated. "Because the sword said to cut all steel and trees has been removed, Jotunheim has been returned to its former state. This is all thanks to you. My younger sisters would also like to express their gratitude to you."

A smaller girl, roughly the same size as Michael and the others, appeared to Urs's left. She looked like a younger version of Urd.

"My name is Verdandi, thank you, Fairy Swordsmen," the girl said. "To think that I can once again behold a green Jotunheim...it's like a dream."

As she finished speaking, a second girl roughly the same height appeared on Urd's left, this one appearing in a cyclone of wind. She wore a green dress, silverchest plate, black boots with wings reaching outward from the bottoms of them, and a silver helmet with sings reaching upward from the top of it. My name is Skuld, allow me to thank you, warriors.

Verdandi formed a ball of light in front of her outstretched hand and it glashed and faded. Skuld formed one as well then blew on it and it faded. A moment later, a reward box opened in front of everyone.

"My gift to you shall be that sword," Urd said pointing at Excalibur, which shone then faded, a text box alerting Kirito that it was added to his inventory.

"Thank you Fairies," the three Hill Giants spoke together. "Until we meet again."

They began to fly away but it seemed Klein just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"M-M-Miss Skuld!" Klein shouted, jumping onto Tonkey's head. "Give me your contact info!"

Michael snorted in amusement, looking up at Skuld as she laughed and waved back at him, then turned and continued flying away. He looked back at Klein as a text box opened in front of Klein with an address in it.

"Wha...no freaking way!" Michael gaped then began to laugh.

"What?" Klein demanded.

"I'm legitimately impressed," Michael laughed. "You managed to get an NPC to give you their phone number."

Klein blinked then grinned and puffed his chest out.

"Of course," Klein sniffed. "Why wouldn't she?"

"I think I may have said NPC," Michael smirked.

Klein huffed, crossing his arms and turning away, dropping back down to Tonkey's back. The others laughed and Michael sighed, sitting down.

"That was a very long mission," Michael sighed. "Thank God it's over."

The others agreed and Tonkey and his friend flew them up to the stairway they had arrived through and dropped them off. They began to climb the stairs then flew to an in and saved. Most logged out but Michael and Sinon went to their field first.

"I'm sorry about this morning," Michael apologised, still feeling bad.

"It's alright," Sinon sighed. "Just, don't do it around the others again, okay?"

Michael nodded and Sinon smiled, kissing him and laying her head on his lap. After a moment, he began to stroke her hair absentmindedly, only realizing he was doing it when she began to purr. He stopped and she looked up at him, cheeks red.

"It's okay here," Sinon mumbled. "I don't mind."

Michael smiled and continued, his smile widening when she began to purr. After a couple minutes, she drifted off, purring in her sleep for a minute before she was automatically logged out. Michael logged himself out and then went to bed.

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	49. Chapter 49

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Range

Michael ducked under the spear and slashed at the creature again, missing horribly. It was too quick for him to hit with his sword. As had been true for most of the creatures in the dungeon. Finally, the creature stopped, raising its sword and an arrow hit it between the eyes, killing it. Michael stood, looking to Sinon who smiled.

"Come on," Michael grumbled.

They were trying to get Sinon her legendary bow since they had nothing better to do, but so far Michael had done little but get his rear handed to him. Finally they reached a massive chasm that couldn't be crossed. Michael looked to the far side, roughly a hundred meters away where there was a pull switch.

"All you, again," Michael stated.

"Oh don't be mad," Sinon smiled, pulling her arrow back and saying a spell. "This is an archer dungeon after all."

She released the arrow and it streaked through the air, hitting the switch which she used the spell to pull. A set of stairs appeared across the chasm and they began to walk, crossing the chasm quickly and finding themselves at a fork. To one side was a room filled with bows. The other side had statues lining the walls. Michael could easily imagine the statues coming to life and attacking them. Apparently, so could Sinon because she had an arrow aimed at the statues instantly.

Michael began down the path and Sinon followed. Sure enough, the moment they reached the first set of statues, the one to Michael's left stepped forward, raising its sword and slashing at him. Michael blocked thensword, shoving it away then slashing it across the chest, killing it. Then, he ducked as a morning star passed over his head from behind. He spun, sidestepping the thing again before an arrow hit the statue in the side of the head, exploding. Michael sighed and they began down the path again. This time, when the statues came to life, Sinon and Michael began to run. The statues began to flood after them, well over a hundred in total.

After a minute, they stopped as they reached the massive door that could only belong to the boss. They stopped, turning and Sinon spotted a switch a ways back. She pulled an arrow back, firing. The arrow hit the switch and the passage collapsed, crushing all of the statues except one, which Michael killed.

"Well, at least we're almost done with this place," Michael sighed turning to the door. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Sinon nodded.

Michael pushed the door open, walking into the room with Sinon following, an arrow already in place. Michaem began to walk further into the room but stopped when a glowing arrow like those fired by Yggdrasil's guardians stuck into the ground between his feet. Michael looked up and saw a person standing on thenopposite side of the room. He had dark grey skin, black hair in a long braid, black armor, a brown quiver level with his right shoulder, and a glowing golden recurve bow.

"Is that your bow?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Sinon nodded as the door closed behind them. "Apparently, if we beat him we get it."

"I can't reach him while he's up there," Michael stated. "I'll pull a Kirito and block the arrows with my sword."

"Can you?" Sinon asked.

"We'll find out," Michael smirked.

He raised his sword as Sinon drew back her arrow.

"Why do you come here?" The person asked.

"For that bow," Michael stated.

"Then come and claim it," the person invited, three health bars appearing.

The person fired three arrows faster than Michael could even realize he drew them. Michael moved to block the three but all three changed course at the last second, flying outward and hitting three switches. Michael blinked as the ground began to rumble.

"What is..." he looked around as the edges of the floor began to crumble, leaving them on.a circular platform with a raised walkway around it where the boss was.

Sinon fired at the boss and the boss spun his bow, the arrow shattering on it before the boss fired one of his own. Michael slashed the arrow, redirecting it into the floor then grinned. Sinnon fired three explosive arrows at once and the boss tried to block them only for them to blast him into the wall, taking a fifth of one health bar. The boss dusted himself off and sprinted around the path, soon becoming a blur. Michael groaned as arrows began to fly at them from all sides, seemingly at random. He began to dart around, slashing the arrows out of the air as Sinon pulled another arrow back, chanting a spell. She fired and amichael recognized the same rope spell she had used to retrieve Excaliber.

The arrow hit the wall and the boss hit it, flipping through the air and then crashing into the wall, rolling along it before slamming into the ground and stopping. Before he could stand, Sinnon fired a single arrow at him. When it hit, a massive dome kf wind appeared around him, wind scythes flying around inside, blasting the boss from all sides. Finally it faded and the boss stood, down to the second bar. He leapt off ot the walkway, landing on the cnter platform and sprinted forward. Michael laughed and rushed to meet him.

When he reached the boss, he slashed at him and the boss spun around him. Michael spun the other way, stabbing at the boss but the boss trapped the sword in the bow then spun it, flipping Michael into the air and throwing him. Michael landed on his feet, spinning and charging the boss again. The boss deflected a slash with his bow them slammed the bow into Michael's stomach before spinning, smashing the other end into his head, dropping him to the ground. Michael rolled out of the way of the boss's foot and flipped to his feet, activating an ability and ldunging at the boss, stabbing at him the boss trapped the sword again then pivoted, sending Michael flying one way and the sword the other.

Sinon fired an arrow at the boss and he dodged it, sprinting at her. At the last second, a fireball hit him in the side of the head, exploding and launching him away from Sinon. Michael sighed, lowering his arm as the boss kicked Michael's sword to him then sprinted at him. Michael met his charge, ducking under the bow only for the boss's free hand to drive a knife up at him. Michael blocked the knife with his sword and headbutted the boss, forcing him back. Then, he activated his OSS before the boss could recover. Three slashes tore through the boss before the boss's knife blocked the sword and the bow slammed into the side of Michael's head, flipping hdim aside just as an explosive arrow hit the boss in the ches, launching him to the edge of the central platform and depleting his second health bar.

Michael stood, cracking his neck and raising his sword. The boss charged and Michael moved to meet him. As they neared each other, the boss drew and fired an arrow. Michael blocked it as the boss cartwheeled around Michael, another arrow hitting him in the back and exploding. Michael flipped and spun through the air and Sinon began to rapid-fire arrows at the boss. The boss easily evaded them all, getting in close to Sinon and smashing her across the stomach with his bow. The impact lifted her into the air and th boss flipped, kicking her away. Then, he spun, leaning backward under a slash from Michael while shooting him at point blank range with an ice arrow. A mass of ice exploded out of Michael's back and shattered, launching Michael backward. He landed on his feet and deflected two arrows before spinning and ducking under a third, holding his sword out and rocketting forward.

His sword tore through the boss's side, splitting it open before Sinon's ice arrow hit him. The boss didn't go flying like Michael but he did stagger backward. When he did, Michael met him with his OSS, the blade tearing through the boss again and again. Then, suddenly, the boss spun, knocking the sword aside and smashing the bow into Michael's head. Before Michael even had time to move, the other end smashed into the other side of Michael's head and Michael spun, dropping to the ground. He rolled over to find the boss holding an arrow less than an inch above his eye.

"Oh boy," Michael groaned.

Before the boss could fire, Sinon's bow slammed into the boss's arm, knockingthe bow sideways and making the arrow stick into the ground before Sinon's bow smashed into the boss's face, knocking him backward. Then, Sinon fired an arrow and the impact point shone blindingly bright fo a moment before the light faded and the boss shattered. Michael groaned, puahing himself up as Sinon went into her inve tory and equipped her new legendary bow. She looked over at Michael and he smirked.

"Alright," Michael sighed. "Let me have it."

She smirked and sent him her old bow and he grinned.

"Thank God it's not a sniper rifle," Michael grinned.

Sinon laughed and nodded before they turned toward the door, which was still locked.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Michael asked.

Sinon looked around then up and grinned. He looked up and saw a ladder held in place by a rope that obviously had to be shot. The problem was that the rope was a hundred meters away and Sinon was leaning on her new bow watching Michael.

"Ugh, fine," Michael sighed, equipping his new bow and quiver, pulling an arrow back and aiming.

He released the arrow and it stuck into the ceiling beside the rope, having missed by an inch. Sinon laughed and pulled her bow back, a glowing arrow simply forming where she would usually have one. She let go and it hit the rope perfectly, severing it and dropping the ladder to the ground.

"You're a good shot," Sinon smiled. "Most people wouldn't even come that close their first shot."

Michael rolled his eyes and began to climb the ladder, slinging the bow across his back. When they reached the top, he reequipped his sword and helped Sinon up then looked around.

"So, now what?" Michael asked.

"Wanna help Klein get his sword?" Sinon asked.

"Yeah sure," Michael smirked. "I always did prefer the heat."

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	50. Chapter 50

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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Out of the Frying Pan

Michael stepped up to the edge of the volcano, glancing down at his fire resistance amulat then over at Klein.

"Ready?" Klein asked.

"Nope," Michael said jumping off the ledge and landing in front of the door.

Klein and Sinon landed behind him and Michael walked over to the door, pushing it open. Inside, everything was on fire. The floor, the walls, and the monsters. Most were burning lizards or skeletons, but there were a few floating fireballs and flaming silhouettes roaming the hallway. Michael sighed, drawing his sword as Klein did the same. They stepped into the dungeon and everything turned blood red. The door slammed shut, locking Sinon outside the dungeon and Klein and Kirito inside.

"Anti-crystal zone," Michael grumbled. "I hate this place. If the Skull Reaper shows up you're on your own."

Klein nodded and the two of them sprinted forward, slicing their way through the fire creatures quickly. After a moment, Michael slashed a fireball and it exploded, launching him into a wall. He groaned, pushing himself up and looked up as he was surrounded by fireball.

"Fuck," Michael groaned. "The fireballs explode when you slash them!"

He stood and thenturned, sprinting up the wall as the fireballs rushed at him. He leapt off the wall and landed in a roll, stopping beside Klein. He stood, equipping his bow and began to shoot the fireballs. Explosions began to go off rapidly and within a minute, a chain reaction began, clearing the room. He switched back his his sword, leaving the bow slung across his back this time, and he and Klein continued into the dungeon.

"Kinda wish Sinon had made it in here with us," Klein stated.

"Same," Michael nodded. "She'd be a lot more useful than me."

They stopped as they found themselves at a very large flaming door and stopped.

"There's no way were're there already," Michael stated.

"Can't be," Klein blinked.

Klein stepped forward, pushing the door open and they both stared in shock. There were dozens of monsters in the room and a single chest against the room that had a pair of flaming knights guarding it. Klein and Michael exchanged knowing looks and Michael sprinted into the sea of monsters as Klein sprinted for the chest. Michael activated an ice ability and tore into the monsters, masses of ice exploding up everywhere. Then, he spun, slashing the ground and a ring of ice spikes shot outward, destroying a large amount of the creatures before stopping. Michael's body froze and he cursed. The lag was worse than it should be again. After about thirty seconds, the first monster scrambled over the melting ice spikes and charged at Michael. At the last second, he was able to move again and ducked under its sword, slashing it then spinning and blocking a spear, redirecting it into another monster then slashed the first, both dying.

As Michael fought his army of monsters, Klein leapt onto the wall then over the first flaming knight. He slashed the second down the front then spun, blocking the first's sword. He shoved it upward and slashed the monster across the stomach. It shattered but the one Klein had attacked first was still alive and leapt at Klein. Klein spun, blocking its sword then shoved it upward, slashing the monster across the chest and killing it. Then, he turned to the chest and opened it. The contents flashed and disappeared and he got an alert that he had acquired a list of random potions and one pair of agility boots.

"Michael gets this garbage," Klein decided, closing the window and wading i to the much smaller sea of monsters.

Michael activated his Horizontal Square ability and shot into motion, slashing four times and sending out the four slash trails. This time, however, they were blue. When they reached the end of their reach, enormous masses of ice exploded out of them, blasting the last of the monsters. Klein walked over, sending him the contents of the chest and Michael thanked him, equipping the boots. They were black with red highlights but had higher defense and agility than his so he didn't care that they didn't match.

"Let's go," Michael sighed. "I'm groing tired of this place."

Klein nodded and they ran forward, opening the next door and running through the passages and hallways until they found the boss door. Michael pushed it open and they found themselves on a short bridge to a round platform about a hundred feet above a pool of lava.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Michael sighed. "Shall we?"

Klein nodded and the two of them walked onto the platform. The moment they were on it, the bridge collapsed and the platform began to fall. It stopped a few inches above the lava and Michael groaned, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Now what?"

He looked to his right and his eyes widened. There was a large ramp leading up and along a hallway ahead of them. The path had stone columns supporting it, which Michael didn't really feel like pointing out the flaw in, and had a massive samurai statue at the top.

"I think we go that way," Michael stated.

Klein nodded and they walked to the ramp, starting to walk up it. Nust as they got halfway, the statue cracked, glowing orange light shining from inside. Then, it shattered and left a flaming samurai wearing a conical hat, heavy armor, and a face mask bearing a manchu mustach of flame.

"Hold travelors," the samurai ordered, holding out its sword, which actually looked a lot like Klein's. "You have fought well to get here. I congratulate your strength. However, i cannot allow you to defile this shrine any further. I must stop you here."

Michael raised his sword but instead of charge, the samurai turned and fled along the path around a corner. A moment later, a massive ball of lava on six skinny legs scurried around the corner then began to roll down the ramp at them. They turned, sprinting down the ramp then moved as far to the outside of the round platform as they could, planning to let it roll off into the lava. At the last second, it caught itself, standing as its health bars, all five of them, appeared. Michael groaned, activating an ice ability and jumping, slashing the thing on the way up. Ice blasted out of it and it roared, turning toward them.

Michael turned, sprinting back up the path with Klein just behind him. As they ran, the massive lava ball chased them. Michael spun, drawing his bow and firing at it but the arrows all burned away before reaching it. Michael swore, putting his bow away and drawing his sword again, using a lightning ability. He stabbed the ground, lightning racing along the ground and then up the creature's legs, making thencreature shriek in pain. Then, it curled up, rolling down to the platform where it stood, beginning to drop the fireball monsters out its bottom. Michael pulled his bow out, firing and watched as the creatures all exploded, blasting thw massive lava ball off the platform.

"Did you get it?" Klein asked.

After a moment it pulled itself out of the lava, fully healed.

"Oh shit," Michael growled. "Run."

They turned, running along the path in the direction the samurai had gone. After a bit, the sprinted into a massive coliseum where not one, but two samurai sat in thrones above them. A moment later, the ball of lava scurried in and the gate closed. Michael groaned. They had to fight it. He turned, croutching and waiting for it to move, Klein doing the same.

After a moment, it roared, stomping toward Michael. He sprinted forward, activating an ice skill and jumping, slashing the creature on the way up, then as he flipped over it. As he landed, masses of ice burst out of it and shattered before Michael darted under it, slashing again. This time, the ice went inward, blasting out the top of the creature before shattering. The creature backed away from Michael and Klein leapt into the air, slashing it and sending ice shooting across its body. Once frozen, the creature's heat shattered the ice, dealing itself a great deal of damage.

Michael shot forward, stabbing one of the creature's legs then turned and sprinted around it, removing all six. It fell to the ground and Klein sprinted forward, slashing it rapidly before Klein stabbed it, a mass of ice exploding out the far side. Both leapt back as the creature's health dropped to red. It roared as its legs regrew then stood and turned toward them.

Klein sprinted forward, slashing the creature's stomach then spun, jumping and carving it open as he jumped over it. Finally the creature shattered and Michael and Klein turned toward the two Samurai as they stood.

"Well fought, young travelers," one of them stated.

"But your fortune ends now," the other stated as they dropped to the ground.

"How do we end up in these kinds of situations?" Michael asked. "As if the Day of the Dead wasn't bad enough."

They both charged their samurai and the samurai met their charge. Michael blocked his samuri's first slash before shoving the blade upward and slashing at the samurai. The samuri flipped his sword down, blocking it then kicked at Michael. Michael avoided it and slashed at the samursi then pivoted, his sword glowing red and dragging him in a circle. The blade carved through the SMurai three times before launching him across the room. Just as it hit the wall, Klein's samurai hit next to it. Both stood, flames rolling off of their swords, then slashed. A massive wall of flames shot outward from them and Michael groaned.

Klein stepped forward, sword glowing blue. He slashed the ground and a wall of ice rose in front of them, blocking the fire. After a moment, the fire ended and the ice wall shattered. Michael sighed, setting the Elucidator across his back as it began to glow blue and Klein shiethed his sword, leaving the last inch free as he crouched, right hand gripping his sword and left gripping his sheath.

"I'm getting tired of this place," Michael growled. "Let's end this."

"Right," Klein nodded as white light began to shine from the last inch of his blade.

The two Samurai held their swords at their sides then darted forward. As they did, Michael leapt forward, jabbing his sword forward and rocketting forward. He blasted through the samurai and it was encased in a massive pillar of ice. Then, the ice shattered, taking the samurai with it. Michael looked back as Klein sped forward drawing his sword and slashing the Samurai across the chest, removing its attacking arm. Then, Klein slowed to a stop beside Michael and his samurai shattered as well.

"That was easier than I expected," Michael sighed. "So, now what?"

The center of the collesium opened and a pedastal with a katana sticking out of it rose from the hole. The katana looked just like Klein's current one but blue rather than black and with blue flames rolling along the blade.

"Impressive," Michael mused. "Play fetch."

Klein walked over, gripping the sword and pulling upward on the sword. At first, it didn't budge. But after a minute, it broke free. Klein spun it a couple times and then rested it on his shoulder.

"How's it feel to have a legendary weapon?" Michael smirked.

"Great," Klein grinned adding it to his inventory then equipping it and breaking down his old one for the materials. "Now let's go enjoy it somewhere cooler."

Michael nodded, happy to oblidge. They hurried through the door of the two they hadn't entered and soon found themselves on a much cooler side of the volcano. Michael looked around then used an ability to send a massive piller of light into the air. It faded and Michael counted down from five. When he hit zero, Sinon arrived.

"I take it you won," Sinon smirked.

"Of course," Michael smirked. "Though, I would love to not have to go back."

"Seconded," Klein groaned. "Let's head over to Agil's place to see what's going on."

"Anything to get out of here," Michael sighed.

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	51. Chapter 51

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. For those who haven't figured it out, Michael's OSS is the level 6 single handed sword skill from Lost Song called Nova Ascention.

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Zekken

Michael leaned against the tree and watched as the young imp easily avoided attack after attack of the much, much larger Salamander. Then, she slipped bast his battleaxe and split him up the front, turning him into a remain light. Michael grinned, hand iching toward his sword, even as his other hand reached up and gripped the back of Klein's shirt, keeping him from trying to run to the girl's side.

"You're a bit less than a match for this Zekken girl," Michael stated. "She bewt the last thirty players without a scratch or a sword skill, no matter what they pulled. You cna't beat her."

"I wanna try!" Klein snapped.

Michael sighed and looked over at the others. Everyone but Asuna was present, and so far all but Klein, Kirito, and Michael had gone.

"Let him go," Lisbeth sighed. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"That AI might get mad that he's flirting around," Michael smirked, releasing Klein.

The others all laughed as Klein and a Gnome both stepped out, the Gnome holding an enormous double-ended morning star staff.

"Ooo," Zekken smiled. "Two on one? Cool."

Michael grinned. He liked Zekken's attitude. Though, her reaction time would make beating her a problem. The Gnome rushed forward, spinning his staff. Then, he began to swipe it back and forth at her. She was smart enough to not try to block it and simply backed away. Klein stood still, watching the fight and Zekken noticed.

"Why aren't you attacking too?" Zekken asked, flipping over the Gnome and kicking him forward into the wall of the collesium.

"A samurai never fights an unfair battle," Klein stated. "Ambushing a young girl is unfair."

"Aw, that's sweet," Zekken smiled. "But trust me, it's more than fair."

The Gnome stepped up beside her, swiping at her and she flipped over the staff, laughing and kicking the Gnome in the face, knocking him backward. Klein still refused to move so Zekken sighed, deciding to let him play his way. The Gnome moved to attack her again and she ducked under the staff, standing and splitting him up the front, killing him. Klein drew his sword and Zekken's eyes widened.

"Ooo," Zekken smiled. "You've got a really cool sword."

"Thank you," Klein smiled, readying himself. "Shall we?"

Zekken nodded and sprinted forward. Klein slashed and as he did, a ghostly sillhouette of a much larger demonic creature wielding a large ghostly version of the katana appeared, mirroring Klein. Zekken's eyes widened and she blocked Klein's sword, then was sent flying when the specter's sword hit hers. She flipp, landing on her feet and smiled.

"I really like that sword," Zekken stated.

Klein smiled and slashed horizontally, the demonic silhouette's sword flashing outward and across the ground at Zekken. She ducked under it, then darted forward. Klein sprinted forward to meet her, the specter disappearing, and blocked her sword. He swept it sideways then slashed at her. She flipped over it and Klein spun, slashing again. She blocked the sword and knocked it aside then flipped to the ground as the specter appeared again. This time, she realized how it was possible.

"That sword has a speacial skill," Zekken grinned, seeing the specter's sword glowing.

She activated an ability of her own, her purple sword glowing violet before she slashed upward, knocking both Klein's sword and the specter's upward, canceling the ability. The specter vanished and Zekken darted forward, sword still glowing as she stabbed at Klein. Klein spun out of the way, slashing downward at her. Her eyes widened but at the last second, her lag ended and she spun, blocking his sword.

"The skill causes no lag for me but does for the specter, kind of like an ability cooldown," Klein said. "It's quite helpful."

Zekken grinned and shoved his sword asside, stabbing at him. He swept her sword aside and suddenly it was beside her, moving forward again. He blocked it again and it seemed to teleport back to her side again. He staggered backward, struggling to block the lightning-quick stabs. Then, her sword tore through his side and he leapt away, one arm covering his side as he stood.

"Fast," Klein smirked. "Much faster than me. Looks like I'll have to try that then."

His sword began to glow red as he sprinted forward, the specter forming as well. Zekken raised her sword, readying herself, but Klein stopped short, slashing an arch into the ground, the specter doing the same roughly halfway between her and Klein. Then, both slashes exploded, a wall of blue and red flames shooting outward at her. She shouted in surprise, leaping away, arms instinctively crossing as the flames filled the collesium. When they faded, smoke was curling off of Zekken, her health in red. Despite that, she had.a grin from ear to ear.

"I love that sword," Zekken grinned. "I may have some trouble with you."

She sprinted forward, sword glowing purple and leapt into the air, stabbing at Klein who was unable to move due to his ability's lag.

"Crap," Klein sighed.

His movement returned at the last second, and he stepped sideways. The moment her sword missed, she spun, bisecting him and he exploded into a remain light. She smiled, the light fading from her sword and pulled out a potion, using it to revive Klein.

"Impressive," Zekken smiled. "That was fun. We should fight again some time."

Klein grinned and nodded puffing out his chest.

"To be praised by you is-"

"Alright can it," Michael interrupted hurling Klein back to the others. "We don't need to listen to you flirting for an hour."

Zekken blinked in surprise then laughed.

"Mind if I go before you Kirito?" Michael called, looking over at him.

"Go for it," Kirito smiled.

Michael drew his sword and Zekken leapt back, readying herself. He grinned, sprinting forward and slashed at her. She blocked it and sparks flew. Zekken spun, slashing at his side and he blocked it then flipped over her sword, slashing at her face as he did. She leaned back and his sword carved a scratch intonher chin. She leapt back, blinking in surprise before grinning.

"You're fast," Zekken smirked. "Fastest I've fought yet."

"Next up will be someone faster," Michael promised. "But for now, why don't we have some fun?"

Zekken nodded, sprinting forward and stabbing at him. He batted her blade aside with his then slashed the other way. She gasped and leapt back, narrowly avoiding his blade then stabbed at him again. He blocked it and she stabbed again before he even relized she had pullee her arm back. He blocked her sword again and she stabbed again less than a second later. He pivoted, allowing the sword to pass then slashed up at her but she managed to flip over it then spun, slashing at him. He leaned back, her sword carving a scratch into his cheek.

He staggered back and she followed, activating an ability and slashing from his left. He activated one of his own, flipping over the blade and slashing at her. She ducked under it, stabbing up at him. He flipped, landing on the ground then stepped forward, slashing at her. She slashed as well, using the attack to block his and a massive explosion went off. Michael slashed through the smoke but hit nothing. Then, he spun, stepping sideways and recieving a stab to the shoulder. He stabbed back and she pulled her sword back, blocking it. He twisted his hand, flicking her sword upward and activated an ability. He stabbed at her and carved a gash in her side before slashing sideways. She ducked under it, activating her own ability and stabbed at him. A purple explosion went off in a trail bwhind him and he grabbed her arm, slashing downward at her.

Zekken jumped, kicking his sword arm the other way then kicked off his chest, wrenching his sword free. He staggered back and glanced at the duel display. There was thirty seconds left and she was in the green while he was yellow. He sprinted forward, readying his OSS. Zekken crouched, grinning as her sword glowed purple. She stabbed at him, his slash blocking it. Then, she stabbed again, his next attack blocking that one. Her next stab hit, sending an explosion out of his back. His next two slashes hit her before her next stab also hit. Again two of his slashes hit, and Zekken grinned, both of their health red. He brought his sword up, slashing diagonally downward and she stabbed his blade, blocking the attack then stabbing him twice. He broght his sword down, spinning in a circle and slashing at her and she blocked it with a stab. He spun around again, her next stab also blocking that before he brought his sword to his waist, stabbing at her. She stabbed at the same time, their blades skipping off each other and Michael's sword stopped glowing, hers, did not.

_Ten,_ Michael thought as she pulled her sword back then drove it forward again.

It hit him square in the chest and an explosion shot off up around then. Michael watched as her sword stopped glowing and she stood in place for a moment before the lag ended and she moved her sword out of his remain light.

_Eleven,_ Michael thought as she revived him.

"That OSS of yours was impressive," Zekken smiled. "What's it called?"

"Nova Ascention," Michael said. "Though, it's not good enough for that one of yours."

"True," Zekken smiled. "Yours is one hit lower than mine, but look at the health bars."

He looked and hia eyes widened. She had only a sliver of health left. Had his stab landed, he'd have won. He smirked.

"Now I'm really disappointed," Michael grinned. "I'll have to get a rematch sometime."

Zekken grinned and nodded as Kirito stepped up next to Michael.

"My turn," Kirito smirked.

"Go for it," Michael smirked.

"Do you mind if we allow flying too?" Kirito asked.

"Not at all," Zekken smiled.

Kirito nodded, accepting the duel request then drawing his sword. Both sprinted forward and began to fight. It took all of three strikes for Kirito to lose track. Three lightning quick stabs hit him and he leapt away, Zekken letting him go. Kirito watched her a moment before he prepared himself, finally being serious. They sprinted forward, Kirito slashing at Zekken and Zekken blocked the sword. She spun, allowing him to stagger past. He spun, blocking a slash then stabbed at him rappidly. He blocked them all then leapt back, sprinting forward again. She grinned, stabbing at him and he ducked under it, activating an ability and slashing her, then darting around her, slashing three more times. Then, a glowing blue box spread outward from her and she leapt backward, breathing hard but grinning. They sprinted forward, their swords crashing together and they began to try to overpower the other.

Michael grinned but stopped, raising an eyebrow when he saw Kirito say something. Then, Zekken leapt back before lunging and stabbing at him. Her sword plunged into his sbdomen and he stepped sideways, the sword carving its way out through his side. He leapt back then sprinted forward, slashing again. She blocked it and stabbed at him and he blocked it, sword being knocked away. He growled in frustration and his sword began to glow blue.

He slashed and Zekken grinned, blocking all four slashes, an explosion going off behind her. Kirito's eyes widened as her sword glowed purple and her sword blasted into him eleven times in the blink of an eye. The last strike sent up an explosion and a moment later, Kirito sailed out the top of the cloud. He flipped, extending his wings and then flew at Zekken. He moved to slash her but froze as the timer hit zero, his sword mere inches away. His health was red and hers was just barely above yellow, making her the winner.

Kirito landed as a group of various races ran over, cheering and tackled Zekken, hugging her. Kirito smiled putting his sword away and Michael smirked, looking up at the health bars and reading her name for the first time. Yuuki. He grinned.

"Well well, Kirito," Michael grinned. "Losing to a girl. Mybe you could have won if you had taken it seriously from the beginning."

"Probably not," Kirito said. "Though, she wasn't able to move when I attacked after her OSS, so maybe."

Michael grinned and nodded, then pulled up his menu, checking the time.

"I gotta go," Michael said. "See you guys around."

Kirito raised a hand and Michael flew away, finding an Inn and logging out for the night.

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	52. Chapter 52

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Chosen

Michael landed on the small island Yuuki had chosen as her next arena. Kirito and the others would be bringing Asuna in a bit, but until then, Michael had more than enough time to have a rematch.

Yuuki, despite being in battle, glanced over at Michael and grinned. She knew exactly what he was after. She turned back to the player she was battling, a Sylph with green heavy armor and a greatsword with a guilded cross guard, and deflected a slash, splitting him. He shouted in dismay, turning into a remain light. Michael stepped forward, drawing his sword and Yuuki readied herself, knowing better than to go easy on him.

"Welcome back," Yuuki smiled. "Ground or air?"

"Ground," Michael decided. "That'll make it easier."

Yuuki nodded and charged. Michael sidestepped her first stab, activating an ability and slashing at her. She blocked it and the ability cancelled. An explosion went off behind her and he spun, kicking her into the smoke. She stepped back out of it but he was gone.

"Where...you sneaky jerk," she grinned.

Just as she did, he stepped out of the smoke, sword glowing blue. Before Yuuki could react, his sword tore through her back horizontally, then flipped down and tor horizontally up the other way. Then, he spun. When his next slash came around, her glowing purple sword crashed into it, an explosion shooting outward from the swords. Yuuki spun the other way, slashing at him he leapt back but her sword still tore across his chest. Then, she was in front of him, stabbing at him again. He blocked it and she pulled it back and stabbed him before he realized she had moved. Her caught her sword arm and slashed downward at her.

She spun out of thenway, wrenching her sword out of his chest then slashing him across the back. He spun, blocking a stab just as her sword began to glow purple. He groaned, two stabs hitting him before he activated his OSS. The first two strikes blocked a stab from her then her fifth and sixth stab hit him before two of his strikes hit her. Her next stab blocked his next strike and then one of his strikes hit her. His next two strikes blocked her stabs before he began to spin. She stabbed him once on the first spin less than a second after the swird hit her. It tore across her chest and her last stab hit him immediately after. He spun again, slashing her across the stomach before moving his sword to his side and stabbing at her.

Her eyes widened as the blade streaked toward her while she was unable to move. Then, Michael froze as the duel's timer hit zero. The point of his blade was against her abdomen but hadn't been able to cause damage. He looked up at the health displays and his eyes widened. Both had a sliver left and he couldn't tell who had more left. Then, the actual HP points appeared. She had beaten him by one point. He groaned as she was named the winner and she smiled.

"That was really close," Yuuki smiled. "You almost broke my streak."

"If only the time limit had been a second longer," Michael sighed, putting his sword away and backing away. "I bet if we fought again I'd win."

Yuuki grinned but shook her head.

"Maybe," Yuuki smirked. "Without that OSS of yours though, you wouldn't be coming anywhere near."

"I agree completely," Michael nodded. "That's why it's my ace."

Just then, a salamander with the standard red armor without the helmet and the usual joisting spear stepped forward.

"I want an aireal battle," he declared.

"Sure," Yuuki beamed.

She extended her wings and flew into the air, the salamander following. He stabbed at her and she easily avoided it, stabbing him but only enough for a tiny amount of damage. Michael walked back to the crowd just as Asuna and the others landed beside him. Then, the salamander crashed to the ground. Then, he stood and called it quits, resigned. Yuuki landed in the center and Asuna gaped.

"Zekken is a girl!?" Asuna gaped.

"You didn't know?" Michael blinked. "Yeah. But she's good. She beat me twice and Kirito once."

"I heard about the first one," Asuna stated.

"Your turn," Michael grinned as Lisbeth shoved her into the circle.

Yuuki smiled and turned toward her.

"You want to fight?" Yuuki asked.

"Yes," Asuna smiled nodding.

"Alright," Yuuki nodded. "Anything goes. Magic, items, whatever you want. I'll only be using this though."

She patted her sword and Asuna nodded, drawing her own.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask," Yuuki smiled. "Do you want a ground or air battle?"

"Ground," Asuna decided.

"Okay," Yuuki smiled. "Jumping is okay but no using your wings."

Asuna nodded and accepted the duel request. The timer counted down and Asuna sprinted forward, stabbing rapidly at Yuuki. Yuuki blocked the attacks easily, despite their blinding speed. After a moment, Asuna slashed at Yuuki but she deflected that as well, followed by four stabs before stepping forward, making Asuna stagger back. Yuuki swung and Asuna leapt back but the sword still carved a scratch into her chest. Asuna stopped, panting from the effort of trying to hit Yuuki and Yuuki simply smiled. Asuna smiled back, wiping a little sweat from her cheek before she looked like she had thought of something awful and her gaze shifted to Kirito. Finally, Asuna took a steadying breath, shifting to the same stance she had in Sword Art Online. She opened her eyes, determination showing in every part of her.

Yuuki noticed the shift and her smile faded as she got serious as well. They both charged and Yuuki slashed. Asuna blocked it, shoving the sword upward. When the blades disconnected, a metallic ring rang out, painfully loud, along with a strong gust of wind. Most of the spectators covered their ears against the ringing except Kirito who remained unaffected, simply smiling instead, and Michael who only winced. Yuuki staggered back a step then steadied herself and darted forward, slashing rapidly at Asuna. Asuna blocked strike after strike, retaliating when she could, but neither was able to land a hit. After a moment, Yuuki's sword began to glow purple and she spun around twice before her sword hit Asuna's. A massive purple explosion went of behind Asuna who jumped and spun, her own sword glowing blue before she stabbed at Yuuki, a blue explosion shooting out behind Yuuki. As the smoke blew away, they watched as the two continued to fight, beginning to run along the island as they clashed. After several more strikes, they began to push against each other's swords for a moment before Asuna's free fist impacted with Yuuki's abdomen. Yuuki began to fall backward from the impact and Asuna stepped forward, sword glowing blue. At the last possible second, Yuuki's head snapped up and four metal-to-metal impacts sounded, though everyone watching saw only one, and a blue explosion shot up around them. Michael looked over to Kirito and saw his shocked expression, matching Michael's own.

As the smoke began to clear, Yuuki's sword began to glow purple again and she began to stab at Asuna with it. Six hits hit Asuna before she could react. Then, she righted herself, activating an ability of her own and they lunged at each other. Four more stabs hit Asuna before she was able to hit Yuuki. A massive blue explosion shot off of Yuuki and everyone watched in awed silence. Then, Yuuki stepped out of the smoke, sword still glowing.

"Eleven," Michael stated, having counted the strikes. "It's over."

Kirito nodded in agreement as Yuuki stabbed at Asuna. A massive explosion shot up around them, but when the smoke cleared, Yuuki had stopped her sword just short of Asuna, sparing her. They both stood up straight again and Asuna took a couple steps back as Yuuki took a couple forward, smiling up at Asuna. Yuuki rested a hand on Asuna's shoulder and smiled.

"You're really awesome," Yuuki smiled. "I'm choosing you."

"Choosing?" Michael blinked. "What...huh?"

Asuna blinked and asked if they were going to finish the duel and Yuuki responded that she was satisfied the way things were, but would finish the fight if Asuna preferred. Asuna smiled and shook her head.

"I've been searching for someone with the 'it' factor," Yuuki stated sheathing her sword and holding out her hand. "And at last I've found her."

Asuna sheathed her rapier as well and accepted Yuuki's hand. Then, Yuuki began to fly into the air, taking Asuna with her. Asuna looked back at the others unsurely and Yui and the girls all called out to her, wanting to know what was going on.

"Well...what?" Michael blinked as the two flew away.

"That was...um...unexpected," Klein blinked.

"Extremely," Kirito nodded. "Any idea what's going on?"

Michael shook his head and looked around.

"Well, while we're here," He grinned at Kirito who returned the grin and sent a duel request.

"Shouldn't let such a perfect arena go to waste," Kirito grinned.

Michael accepted and the two walked out into the open, drawing their swords. The spectators watched, Yuuki and Asuna's bizarre duel ending partially forgotten.

"Anything goes," Michael grinned. "Beat me, and the OSS is yours."

"Good to know," Kirito grinned. "Shall we?"

They both charged, sparks flying as their swords met.

* * *

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	53. Chapter 53

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Double Trouble

Asuna watched as the others all cheered and talked together happily. She was in a tavern with a guild called the Sleeping Knights, one that Yuuki was the leader of. She had been looking for someone as strong as herself or stronger. Michael and Kirito both popped into Asuna's head. They'd be more helpful. Yuuki and her friends planned to take the floor boss down with only a single party, the maximum number allowed being seven. They were going to have to disband soon and wanted to get their names recorded on the Monument of Swordsmen in the Black Iron Palace of New Aincrad for defeating the floor boss, but all of their names would only be recorded if they defeated the boss with only a single party. Any more than that and only the leaders' names would be recorded.

Asuna had been chosen to be the seventh person, as there were six in the guild, including Yuuki. Asuna had agreed to help, but still wanted to know why not Michael or Kirito, or even Klein. All three had done better than her. Michael had come close to winning even.

"Um, Yuuki," Asuna spoke up. "You've been dueling a while before you fought me. There must have been a few stronger players. Like a Spriggan dressed in all black wielding a one-handed sword. Or the Salamander with the samurai armor and the katana? Or the Sylph that has the ten-hit combo?"

"Oh them," Yuuki smiled. "I remember them. They were all really powerful too."

"Then why not choose them?" Asuna asked.

"Well..." Yuuki thought. "They just weren't the right person."

"Why not?" Asuna asked.

"Well," Yuuki sighed looking down at her cup but smiling. "The Spriggan, and probably the Sylph too, found out what my secret is. As for the Salamander, he just wasn't quite strong enough. Close though."

"It must have been hard to pass up their strength though," Asuna guessed.

"Yeah," Yuuki nodded. "If I hadn't met you soon, I might have taken the Sylph."

Asuna nodded as Nori, a Spriggan girl in the guild, walked over.

"We should probably get going," Nori stated.

"Alright," Yuuki sighed.

They al walked outside and everyone said their goodbyes to Asuna, agreeing to meet at the same tavern the next day for the raid. Then, Asuna left to meet with Kirito and the others.

* * *

Michael ducked under Kirito's sword and leapt back, then lunged forward with a stab. He froze at the last second when Kirito was distracted by a message. Michael stepped back and Kirito opened his messages, responding then closing out of it and nodding to Michael.

"Now, where were we?" Michael grinned, sword glowing blue as he darted forward, slashing at Kirito.

Kirito blocked the slash and redirected the sword over his head before his sword glowed forest green. Michael's eyes widened and he swore as Kirito began to tear into him with the OSS he had won. Kirito moved to stab Michael but Michael rolled out of the way of the last strike, raising his sword as Kirito turned toward him.

"I really regret teaching you that," Michael grumbled. "Oh well."

He sprinted forward and slashed at Kirito as Kirito stabbed at him. At the last second, Michael spun, sweeping the stab aside then flipped his sword around and slashed at Kirito. Kirito flipped over the slash then spun, decapitating Michael. Michael turned into a Remain Light and sighed.

"I was hoping to do more damage before you used my OSS," Michael sighed as Kirito revived him.

"You'll get there someday," Kirito laughed.

Michael rolled his eyes and sighed, looking around. They were in a field on the first floor of New Aincrad where they could spar without worrying about monsters, and all around them, players were cheering about the fight.

"Looks like Yuuki really got people in the mood for sparring," Michael grinned. "We should get Eugene in on this."

Kirito grinned and nodded just as Klein stepped out of the crowd.

"Michael," Klein spoke up. "Eugene wanted me to tell you that he found a dungeon rumored to have a certain grim reaper super boss inside."

Michael and Kirito exchanged knowing looks and both flew off, following Klein to the cave. Eugene was waiting outside and simply nodded to Michael as they arrived.

"So, Fatal Scythe?" Michael asked.

"So the rumors say," Eugene nodded. "If it is, any idea what we'll get?"

"Massacred," Michael snorted. "We're nowhere near strong enough for a Fatal Scythe. Our stats are all basically back to where they were before entering New Aincrad but still. Fatal Scythe was equal to the Floor Boss on level Ninety Five. Granted so was the Skull Reaper but still."

Eugene nodded and they all walked into the cave, silently walking along the hallways and through enormous caverns. Then, they reached the end of the cave, a massive cavern with a thin path leading to a waterfall. As of yet, the cave had been disappointing. However, it looked like it might work out alright.

Michael walked forward as the waterfall parted and not one but two Fatal Scythes exited it. Michael felt his small hope that they could at least last a little while deflate as the two reapers raised their scythes.

"Oh..." Kirito breathed. "We're so fucked."

Michael nodded then sprinted forward, rolling under the first scythe then leaping over the second, pulling his knees to his chest to clear the blade. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he activated his OSS, his sword tearing into the Fatal Scythe. He heard the one behind him shrieking in rage as well and assumed Kirito had attacked it. After a moment, Michael's ability ended and the Fatal Scythe raised its blade. Before it could hit, a glowing arrow hit the reaper, and a blinding light shone out, forcing it to back away. A moment later, Michael looked around and behind himself, seeing Sinon standing in the doorway.

"I'll cover you," Sinon said readying another arrow.

Michael smiled and nodded, sprinting forward. He rolled under the Fatal Scythe's blade and leapt past the reaper, slashing it before flipping and holding out his hand. A moment later, a blinding light appeared and left his Doppelganger standing on the opposite side of the Fatal Scythe from Michael. Michael grinned and lunged, activating his OSS as the Doppelganger mirrored his movements. Both swords tore through the reaper for a moment before it spun, slashing both. Michael survived with a sliver of health and the Doppelganger died. Michael pulled out a healing crystal while Sinon kept his Fatal Scythe busy, and healed himself. Then, he stood and looked to the other one, seeing Eugene and Kirito attacking it as fast as they could. But it had barely lost any health. Michael's own had barely lost any either.

"Shit," Michael growled. "It would be great if I could summon this thing. But we can't beat it."

He turned, sprinting over to Kirito and Eugene just as both were slashed. He grabbed both, sprinting to Sinon and out of the cave before the Fatal Scythes could chase them. They stopped outside where Eugene and Kirito healed themselves and sighed.

"That could have gone better," Kirito stated. "A full raid couldn't even take them."

"No," Michael agreed. "Although, I bet if we recruited Yuuki we could."

Kirito snorted and nodded then sighed and looked around.

"Let's head to town," Kirito said. "It's getting late anyway."

Michael nodded and they flew to the nearest city and all logged out. Once in reality, Michael sent Shino a message thanking her for saving them from the Fatal Scythes and asking if she felt like clearing a dungeon with him after she got out of school tomorrow. She agreed and said goodnight and both went to bed.

* * *

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	54. Chapter 54

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

I Want One

Michael leaned against the cliff beside the cave's entrance. After nearly a half hour, he was pretty bored. However, he was going to wait until she arrived to clear the dungeon, since the dungeon was anything but simple. Finally, Sinon landed in front of him and he smiled.

"Bout time," Michael grinned pulling out the bow she had given him.

She smirked, holding up her bow as well and the two of them walked into the dungeon. After a moment, they exited the narrow passage into a much wider tunnel that was perfectly round. They looked around before beginning to follow the tunnel. It sloped downward, travelling deeper and deeper as they went. After a few minutes, a pair of horse-sized moles exploded out of the ground, leaping at them. Both drew their bows back and fired, their arrows hitting the moles in the face, however, only Sinon's mole died. Michael slammed his bow into his mole's face and it turned, crashing into the wall and beginning to tunnel.

"I hate moles," Michael growled.

After a moment, it leapt out again and Michael spun, hitting it in the face with an explosive arrow. He sighed, standing and glancing at Sinon as he slung his biw and drew his sword.

"No," Sinon said. "If you're going to keep the bow, you need to raise your archery stat."

Michael groaned, switching back and readying another arrow.

"The higher your stat the more damage bows do for you," Sinon stated.

"But I like swords," Michael complained as they walked, making Sinon laugh.

"Just think of it as training," Sinon laughed.

Michael sighed and they walked in silence for a bit.

"Have you played GGO since..." Sinon trailed off but Michael understood.

"No," Michael said. "You?"

She shook her head and he smirked.

"We might have too," Michael grinned. "We never did prove which of us was stronger."

Sinon grinned just as they entered a massive cavern with tunnels leading out of it everywhere, most smaller than the one they had left. There was a single massive tunnel leading straight down in the center of the cavern but Michael doubted they could go that way and live. Just as this thought occured to him, six moles burst out of the ground around them. Sinon and Michael both shot one, Michael using an explosive arrow to kill his target, then spun, smashing both of the others away with their bows. The moment the moles landed, one began to dig and the other leapt at them again. Sinon shot hers but Michael spun his bow, smashing his into the ground just as the other mole exploded up below it, killing it. Then, Michael spun around Sinon, allowing her to shoot his last one as he shot hers, both exploding. They looked around just as giant moles began to scramble out of the smaller tunnels around the room, at least fifty of them.

"Holy," Michael breathed. "There's...so many."

Sinon nodded and both pulled their bows back, firing at the horde of moles. Michael's arrow split into multiple fireballs, exploding and blasting the moles into the air as glowing golden arrows began to fly into them, failing to kill them. Michael fired a lightning arrow into the ground in front of them and lightning shout outward from it electrocuting nearly half. After a moment, they continued anyway.

"Alright, try this," Sinon growled aiming upward and chanting a spell.

She released the arrow and it flew away, clearing its arch and splitting into dozens of arrows as it fell. The arrows began to rain down among the moles and explode on impact. Finally, moles began to explode as well and Michael drew another arrow, pulling it back as the last three neared them. He fired, hitting one in the face before jumping over it. The next leapt at him and he flipped over in mid air, his bow crashing into the mole, slamming it into the ground before Michael landed on it, pulling the bow back and hitting the mole with an ice arrow. Ice exploded out of the mole's stomach then exploded and the mole shattered. The first mole he had shot leapt at him but a glowing arrow hit its side, unleashing a blinding light and the mole shattered. Michael spun, pulling and loosing another arrow just in time to hit the last mole's foot before it could bat Sinon upside the head with it. It shrieked in rage just as the arrow sent lightning racing over its body and it collapsed, exploding after a second.

"That could have been worse," Sinon said. "You're improving."

"Slowly," Michael said. "So, what next?"

Sinon looked up at the tunnels and shrugged so they walked around the massive one in the middle of the room and they entered the only tunnel that was lit besides the one they entered through. It was a little bit smaller than the one they entered through, forcing them to walk single-file but the tunnel was rather short. At the end, there was a shrine of some kind with a mole standing on its hind legs with its fore legs held up and a basin in front of it. On the ground beside the shrine was a bottle of a bubbling green liquid.

"What's this?" Michael asked picking it up.

The moment he did, a text box appeared over the basin, asking if he wanted to defile it.

"Guess we ruin it," Michael blinked looking to Sinon who shrugged.

He selected yes and the bottle shattered, the green liquid appearing over the shrine, which began to melt. Then, the liquid shattered, leaving the shrine smoking and unable to be recognized. After a moment of nothing happening, Michael shrugged and they turned, walking back to the massive chamber. The walked back down the path to the main floor just as the room rumbled.

"This can't be good," Michael groaned.

Then, a massive mole head slowly rose out of the pit, staring at them. The mole had beady black eyes and reddish brown fur. It sat there for a moment before raising its forelegs in front of itself and clapping once. The ground began to shake violently and then rubble began to crash down around them. Sinon shouted in surprise diving out of the way of a giant chunk of stone as Michael sprinted at the mole, firing several explosive arrows, making the mole turn away, shrieking in pain. Sinon fired an arrow into its eye, ice exploding out of the back of its head before shattering, making the mole shriek again and dive back into its hole. Michael sprinted forward, leaping into the hole, Sinon just behind him. After a moment, they began to slide against the side of the tunnel as it began to slope forward again before leveling out. Michael stood first, sprinting forward as Sinon followed, both readying an arrow. After several minutes, they found the mole, tunneling away from them rapidly. Just as they found it, several smaller Moles burst out of the walls around the mole, charging at them.

"I got them," Michael said, firing an arrow which split into several, one for each mole.

Each arrow sent electricity racing across the moles and they all shattered as two of Sinon's arrows streaked past, hitting the gigantic mole in the back, exploding. This time, when the mole shrieked, three health bars filled and her attack drained a tiny bit of one bar. They sprinted after the mole as it began to get away and more moles began to burst out of the walls around them, this time with them ignoring them. The moles began to grow in number behind them as Michael and Sinon struggled to keep up with the giant mole. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and they looked back to see the enormous swarm of moles all pounding the ground, causing cracks to spread rapidly outward from them, rubble falling around them.

"Kill them!" Sinon shouted.

They both fired three arrows, each of Michael's splitting into five fireballs which exploded in the front lines of the moles while Sinon's arrows separated into dozens of arrows which exploded further back, doing far more damage and ending the shaking.

"Where'd you learn that?" Michael demanded.

"You learn it automatically when your archery stat reaches one thousand," Sinon said as they turned, beginning to run again. "You keep the moles behind us from doing that again. I'll handle the one up ahead."

Michael nodded, leaping into the air and spinning, firing three lightning arrows into the ground, wiping out the remaining moles as they chased them. Then, he landed, spinning and sprinting after Sinon again. As he caught her, moles began to break out behind them again and he spun, firing an arrow into the leader and it exploded, killing two of the six. A second arrow hit another and suddenly a dark circle appeared below the floor under the remaining rats and the tunnel over them collapsed, crushing them.

"Ah Gravity Magic," Michael grinned. "So helpful."

"Nice," Sinon grinned. "How'd you know it'd collapse the tunnel?"

"Who said anything about me knowing that?" Michael snorted. "I'm just as surprised as you."

Sinon smirked, firing an arrow forward. It streaked through the air, splitting into dozens more. When they hit, a massive column of light shot up around the mole and it shrieked in pain. Then, the light faded and the mole continued. Its health was halfway gone now, however.

"Do that a couple more times and we win," Michael stated, looking back to see moles swarming behind them again. "Persistent rodents."

He jumped, firing two arrows which sent a dozen explosions throughout the swarm, killing them all. As he landed beside Sinon, she fired an arrow, using the same attack as before. When it ended, the mole had a sliver of health left from its second health bar left, along with its third.

"Did that really do so little damage that time?" Michael groaned. "Hit him again."

"I can't," Sinon stated. "That was the last of my mana. I can't use any abilities until it refills."

Michael nodded, drawing an arrow and firing at the mole. It hit just behind the mole but sent electricity shooting along the tunnel, blasting the mole. The mole's health dropped to the third bar and the mole shrieked a second time, fur stiffening and spiking up. Then, it began to tunnel faster. Michael's jaw dropped open and they sprinted after it. It quickly left them behind and they turned, both firing at the moles chasing them, dropping them fast. Just as the last shattered, the ground began to shake and the tunnel to their left began to crack. Michael grabbed Sinon, leaping forward and barely getting out of the way as the mole tunneled past. He stood, sprinting to the tunnel and firing after the mole. The tunnel was dark but after a second, the arrow exploded, illuminating the mole and causing it to shriek. Then the tunnel was dark again.

"It's fast," Michael growled. "This is going to be a pain."

Sinon nodded in agreement, standing and pulling her bow back, forming an arrow. The tunnel above them began to crack and they both leapt out of the way, Sinon firing an arrow and hitting the mole in the side. The moment it tunneled into the floor at an angle, Michael and Sinon began to sprint down the tunnel after it, the angle giving them a very helpful boost. They were able to keep up, this time and Michael began to pepper the mole with explosive, lightning, and ice arrows as Sinon sent as many arrows into it as she could. Finally Michael was also out of mana and their arrows weren't even seeming to make the health bar move as it had reached red and received yet another defense boost.

"Enough of this!" Michael snarled as they chased it, drawing his sword. "Let's try my sword now."

Sinon turned toward him just as he pulled his sword back like an arrow and let go, the sword streaking through the air and then plunging into the mole. The mole shrieked in agony, stopping and rearing up before collapsing, the ground in front of itself collapsing to reveal a massive cavern. Then, the mole shattered and Michael walked forward, picking up his Elucidator and spinning it for a moment before sheathing it.

"All the damage of using my sword, and all the range of a bow," Michael grinned. "Unfortunately, it's only a one-time thing."

"True," Sinon smirked. "For a second, I thought you were going to use your sword as a sword."

"Nope," Michael grinned. "Just an arrow."

Sinon grinned and they walked into the chamber, looking around.

"Where are we?" Sinon asked.

"The final chamber of the dungeon," Michael stated. "It spawns wherever the mole dies."

"Why do I feel like you designed this dungeon?" Sinon asked.

"Nope," Michael grinned. "Just looked at the map data."

Sinon nodded as they stopped, seeing a single person in front of them. It was a woman with very revealing purple tinted armor, shoulder-length blonde hair, and a massive purple greatsword with a huge double-edged blade on one end of the six-handed grip and a double-ended dagger blade on the other end in place of a pommel.

"Who is that?" Sinon asked.

"That, is the dungeon's boss," Michael smirked. "The mole was a miniboss."

Sinon nodded, drinking a couple mana potions while Michael did the same before drawing his sword, slinging his bow. Sinon nodded and pulled her bow back, forming an arrow as Michael walked forward, making sure to stay out of the way of Sinon's arrows.

"Who are you?" the girl in the center of the chamber asked.

"I'm Michael," Michael stated. "You?"

The girl simply smirked and sprinted forward, kicking up a cloud of dust before slashing at Michael. Michael blocked the slash, barely holding the sword back before shoving it upward and stepping out of the way as it fell again. Just as it did, it curved, swinging around at Michael's side. He leapt back and barely escaped the slash before the girl appeared in front of him, sword over her head and descending, wings unfurled.

Michael hurled himself to the side as Sinon fired, her arrow redirecting the sword just enough for Michael to escape. As he stood, he spread his wings and grinned.

"Well well," Michael grinned. "We can fly in this room. This aught to be fun."

He and the girl shot into the air, the girl curving around and streaking at Michael. She slashed at him and he blocked it, shoving the sword away and flipping, kicking her away before flying after her. She stopped herself, sword glowing purple as she flew forward, pulling her sword back. Michael pulled his own back as well, the blade glowing blue. As they reached each other, they slashed, their swords meeting in a massive clash, sending a shockwave outward from the impact. A moment later, Michael moved forward, sword sliding along her blade until he passed her, slashing at her. She flipped under the blade, spinning and slashing at his back. He spun, blocking it and being shoved backward. As he sailed away from her, trying to stop himself, she flipped, flying after him. He grinned, seeing the glowing red scratch on her cheek.

"Got you," he grinned as he landed on the wall and kicked off, flying at her.

He flipped over her first slash, activating his OSS. His sword tore into her back repeatedly before she spun, sword carving through his abdomen, ice exploding out of his back. It shattered and he sailed into the air, flipping over several times He stopped himself, health already half gone and looked at her to see that her health bar was also half gone.

"Not bad," the girl grinned raising her sword.

Michael held his own out to his side, gripping the forearm as flames began to roll off the blade. Her blade began to shine purple and they both flew forward. As they neared each other, she slashed, an arch of light flying out. He rolled out of the way, slashing as he passed her. His sword tore down her left side, a massive explosion going off, launching her across the room into the wall as Michael landed, letting his wings fade and grinning, holding his sword out to his side, readying himself.

"You're good," the girl commended, landing about a hundred meters from him, also letting her wings fade and letting the blade of her sword sit on the ground. "This sword is too heavy."

She let go and it crashed to the ground loudly. Then, she held up her hand, flames appearing over it before shooting outward, forming a ridiculously long yet thin red greatsword that Michael recognized as the one Yui had deleted the Death Scythe in Sword Art Online with.

"That sword," Michael breathed as the girl shot forward, slashing at him.

He hurled himself backward, flipping over the blade, barely clearing it, then flipping several times before landing on his feet and skidding backward to Sinon's side, the girl stopping, grinning and holding up the sword.

"That sword..." Michael breathed.

"What's wrong?" Sinon asked.

"Stay back," Michael growled. "Don't get cut by the sword. It'll delete your avatar."

Sinon stared at him for a moment before looking to the girl, seeing the knowing grin on her face.

Michael held his sword out to his side, crouching, sword beginning to glow white. The girl held the sword high above her head, flames rolling off of it. He sprinted forward as she flew at him, slashing downward. He rolled out of the way, avoiding the blade just before it swung around at him. He blocked it and she spun the other way, the blade whipping around and slashing at him again. he blocked it again and the sword spun into the air before she caught it and spun, the sword glancing off of his once before slicing through his abdomen almost instantly afterward, hurling him. He crashed into the wall, groaning and standing then looking down at his avatar and back up at the girl.

"It doesn't delete," the girl stated. "That's no fun."

He grinned, sword glowing blue, and sprinted forward. She flew forward, slashing at him and he blocked it, sword sparking against hers as he continued for a moment before he stabbed, hurtling forward and missing by less than an inch. He landed in a roll and spun, grabbing his bow and pulling it back with his sword. As he turned toward her, she was flying toward him and he grinned, loosing the sword. It stabbed into her chest and her eyes widened as she staggered back, the sword vanishing in flames. Then, she smiled as she glowed and shattered. He stood, grinning just as she reformed, picking up his sword.

"Nice sword," she grinned before tossing it to him. "Guess you win."

"Wait, what the heck just happened?" Sinon asked. "Who is she?"

"I'm Strea," the girl smiled.

"She's a mental health and wellness AI, like Yui," Michael stated.

"She's an AI?" Sinon blinked.

"Yes," Michael nodded. "She's like the Yui of ALfheim Online."

"That's right," Strea smiled. "The admins made me to monitor the players since my big sister isn't doing her job."

"Okay," Sinon sighed. "So...why are we here?"

"She's going to be my navigation pixie," Michael smirked. "And a helping hand when I need it. I'm jealous of Kirito for having Yui to help him out, so I decided to recruit some help."

"But...how did you know she'd help you if you fought her?" Sinon asked. "Or how to get to her? I don't understand."

"I've been talking to her about it for a while," Michael stated. "She can do her job while playing as a character and got bored, but she didn't want to risk the admins getting mad at her. So, in order to get around that, we made a deal. She would create a dungeon and fill it with monsters and make it lead to her and I'd put the dungeon in the next update when it was released, then, she would inhabit an avatar whose player died in real life. Then, when I got to her, she and I would fight and she would help if I won."

"What if you lost?" Sinon asked.

"The dungeon gets deleted," Michael stated.

Sinon nodded then sighed, putting her bow away as Michael sheathed his sword and Strea retrieved her purple greatsword, also putting it away. Then, she began to glow and shrunk to a pixie like Yui. She landed on Michael's shoulder and Michael walked over to Sinon, smiling but able to tell she was kind of disappointed.

"Sad there was no real boss or loot?" Michael grinned.

Sinon sighed then nodded, smirking.

"A little bit yeah," Sinon nodded.

"Well, there just happens to be a loot room behind that big boulder over there," Michael grinned, pointing.

Sinon looked over at him then smirked at him. He kissed her on the cheek and walked to the door, leaning on the frame as she ran over to the boulder, blasting it with an arrow and stepping into the packed loot room. After a few minutes, she walked out with a dagger with a black handle, a white ribbon wrapped around hit forming "X"s, and a leaf-shaped blade roughly as long as Sinon's hand and a fourth of her forearm. She also had a quiver filled with arrows and Michael knew she had found more money than was necessary for any player. It's what he specifically asked Strea to have there for Sinon.

"Happy now?" Michael grinned.

She smiled and nodded and the two of them left the dungeon with Strea. Then, Michael switched them all over to his field and sat against the tree, Sinon taking her usual spot against it while Strea put the avatar in standby, essentially putting it to sleep while she monitored players.

"That was pretty fun," Sinon said. "And Strea had some good loot."

"I agree," Michael grinned. "So, want to head to GGO next?"

"Hell yes," Sinon grinned.

Michael laughed and kissed her, then set his head back, closing his eyes as Sinon set her head on his chest, both drifting off to sleep and being auto logged out.

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	55. Chapter 55

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Settled

Michael ducked behind the stone wall, grinning from ear to ear, knife held in one hand, his new photon sword in the other. Sinon was somewhere up ahead, sighted in and waiting for him to step out. Her first shot would kill him if he didn't manage to dodge it somehow, but he knew that if he stayed still too long, he would die anyway. He stepped out, sprinting in a zig zag toward the only tower where Sinon could effectively snipe from. He kept his eyes on the tower and soon saw something catch light as it flew toward him. He hurled himself backward as the ground in front of him exploded and grinned.

"There you are," Michael grinned extending his photon sword. "Let's get this going."

He sprinted forward, watching as a prediction line appeared between his eyes. He grinned. Then, he raised his sword, slashing the bullet out of the air at the last second. He continued, grinning. As he ran, several more bullets flew at him, and he slashed those out of the air as well. After a moment, he vaulted over a low wall, the wall below him exploding as a bullet punched through it, then continued, slashing another bullet out of the air. He was nearing the tower and rolled under a bullet, pulling out his own sniper rifle and grinning, sighting in and instantly firing before the panic attack could set in, although it still kicked in immediately afterward. He stood, putting the rifle away and drawing his photon sword, slashing a bullet that Sinon had fired as she fell from the tower, having jumped out for some reason, though, all Michael could hear was the screams of passers by as a sniper took his family from him. He looked up at the tower, seeing that the entire top had exploded. He seemed to have hit a propane tank or something. He looked back at Sinon as the screams began to die out and she fired straight down, slowing her descent enough to not kill herself. Then, she landed, rolling into the prone and firing again. He slashed the bullet, sprinting forward, hurling a knife. It sailed toward her but was just a little too far to the side. She fired again and again Michael deflected it. He continued running and Sinon stood, pulling out her machine pistol and opening fire at him as she ran sideways. He began to deflect bullets but as he did, other bullets began to punch into him. She finally stopped as she stepped behind a building. He looked down at himself, wincing. He had bullet holes all through himself and is health was red, but he could still win if he could just get to her.

He sprinted into the building and up three floors since he didn't know if she was aiming the way she had come or the other direction, then ran to a window in the back, looking down. Just as he did, his face lit up red. He leapt out, pistol bullets crashing through the remains of the window and into the ceiling. Sinon grinned, tossing her pistol away and raising her sniper rifle, sighting in. Michael growled in frustration, realizing he was too close to see the prediction line. He drew and hurled his knife as he moved his sword to block where he could see her eyes in the scope looking. Just as he did, her rifle went off. The bullet grazed the inside of his photon blade, then removed his leg at the hip. His knife scratched her cheek but missed and Michael crashed down next to her, photon sword landing just out of reach. She put the sniper rifle to his head and he groaned.

"I give up," he sighed. "You win."

Sinon smiled, using an ability to heal him, restoring his leg, and he stood, picking up his photon sword and summoning his knife before putting it away. Then, he clipped his photon sword to his belt and grinned.

"I was close," Michael stated.

"If you had moved your sword just a little further," Sinon nodded grinning.

Michael sighed and they turned toward the city just as they lit up in a massive prediction line. Michael grabbed Sinon and leapt to the side, getting them out of the way as bullets began to fly past much faster than a normal machine gun.

"Minigun," Michael said. "Behemoth."

"Yup," Sinon nodded, standing and running off to get in position to snipe.

Michael sprinted out from around the building, rolling under the prediction area and then stood, spinning and hurling his knife at Behemoth. Behemoth was hit in the shoulder and Michael pulled out his rifle, stopping and firing rapidly at him, the shots blasting into Behemoth's barrier rapidly. Behemoth turned and Michael began to sprint again, firing as he ran. Then, he slung his rifle as Behemoth leaned back, Sinon's first shot missing. Just as Behemoth turned to look at Sinon, Michael skidded around a wall, drawing his photon sword, and sprinting at Behemoth. Behemoth turned, firing at Michael but Michael leapt over the bullets, removing Behemoth's head as he passed. Just as he landed, a sniper bullet punched through the back of his left shoulder, removing his arm and flipping him onto his back. He rolled over, standing and raising his sword as Archon's avatar stepped out from behind a wall, dropping its sniper rifle and pulling out a pair of photon swords.

"PoH, you piece of shit!" Michael spat.

"I have nothing better to do," PoH said. "Shall we?"

"No," Michael growled.

Michael pulled out his sniper rifle and raised it, firing without sighting in. PoH slashed, the bullet splitting in two and missing and Michael gaped at him.

"But...that's..." Michael trailed off, putting his rifle away and pulling his photon sword back out as PoH slashed to the side, splitting one of Sinon's bullets without looking.

He sprinted forward, slashing rapidly at PoH but PoH was able to easily keep up with only one sword. Then, he slashed Michael across the chest, hurling him backward. Michael crashed down hard and PoH laughed, walking forward, splitting a second of Sinon's bullets.

"How did you ever manage to keep Archon busy?" PoH chuckled. "You're pathetic. This is the same avatar even."

"You're hacked," Michael growled.

"Not in this game," PoH stated.

PoH raised his photon swords just as there was a flash of light and went flying. Michael looked up to see Strea standing over him, holding a red photon sword and wearing purple armor similar to what Kirito's M9000 avatar had worn. Michael pushed himself up, picking up his photon sword and smirked as PoH stood, staring at Strea in confusion.

"Thank you Strea," Michael grinned. "Shall we?"

Strea nodded and the two of them sprinted at PoH, spreading out to attack from opposite sides. PoH growled in annoyance, waiting until the last second then ducking, allowing Strea and Michael's photon swords to clash above him. Then, he slashed at Strea. She flipped over the blade, slashing downward at him as Michael slashed at him from the other side. He blocked both blades and kicked Michael then turned, slashing at Strea rapidly, though she was able to keep pace with him relatively easily. After a moment, PoH shoved Strea's photon sword away and spun, blocking Michael's before ducking under Strea's, which nearly hit Michael in the face. Michael leaned his head back, the sword flashing past in front of him before PoH stood, kicking Strea away and beginning to slash at Michael. Michael blocked everything for several minutes before diving aside as a sniper bullet punched through PoH's abdomen. PoH spun, slashing a second before blocking Strea's photon sword then spun, blocking Michael's. Michael let the photon sword go, drawing his knife and driving it into PoH's abdomen before catching his photon sword and slashing PoH across the chest. PoH staggered back and spun, blocking Strea's photon sword again. Just as the blades met, Strea ducked, photon sword slipping off of PoH's then slicing through his side. She stood beside Michael and her photon sword shattered as PoH staggered forward, clutching at his side with one hand and rubbing his eyes as though to clear his vision with the other.

"What did...you do?" PoH snarled.

"Your avatar is being deleted," Strea said simply. "I figured it would make my master happy."

"Master?" Michael blinked. "What do you mean master?"

"Well that's what you are," Strea beamed.

Michael shook his head, sighing as PoH's avatar began to blur before turning green and disappearing. Then, Sinon walked over looking around.

"Did he just get deleted?" Sinon asked.

"Yep," Michael grinned. "Strea figured it would make me happier than just killing him."

"Good call," Sinon grinned. "So, now what?"

Just then Michael received a message from Kirito. He read through it and grinned.

"Wanna go have a PvP brawl?" Michael grinned.

"Sure," Sinon grinned. "Who with?"

"You, me, and Kirito vs an entire clearing guild," Michael grinned. "Yuuki's guild and Asuna are trying to kill the twenty seventh floor boss alone but the guild used a spell to watch their first fight in order to learn about the boss, and now will be trying to keep them from fighting it again. Asuna asked Kirito for help, and Kirito figured I'd want in, and that I'd bring you."

Sinon smirked and nodded and Strea disappeared in a flash of light. Then, Michael used a quick hack to save their GGO data at the usual inn and switched them both to ALfheim Online.

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	56. Chapter 56

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

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4v100

Michael pushed the dungeon's door open and they sprinted into it, both grinning from ear to ear. Strea gave them directions as they ran and soon, they found themselves running down a long tunnel with a mass of at least a hundred players at the far end. As the players ran, one player in black, a spriggan if Kirito was right, sprinted onto the wall, speeding past the group he was following, and landed in front of them, stopping them. Michael grinned, speeding up and sprinting up one side of the wall, cheering as he passed over the group. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed that the tunnel ended before the door, and just as he reached the opposite wall, his foot fell into open air and he groaned, crashing into the ground and rolling along until he stopped just past Kirito.

"Smooth," Kirito grinned as everyone else stared at him.

"Ah shut up," Michael grumbled, pushing himself up. "I just didn't want to show you up."

Kirito laughed once as Sinon leapt off the wall, flipping over and landing on top of Michael's head.

"Remind me again why I date you?" Sinon asked.

"Because I saved your life," Michael stated.

Sinon smirked, dropping to the ground behind him.

"Oh, that's right," Sinon smirked.

"Hey geniuses," the apparent leader of the guild spoke up. "You don't really think you three alone can defeat all of us, do you? There's more than a hundred of us."

"Honestly I don't know," Kirito grinned. "I've never tried something like this."

"Should be fun to find out though," Michael grinned, resting his sword on his shoulder.

"No matter how it turns out," Sinon agreed.

"Told you I could make her think like me," Michael grinned.

"I stand corrected," Kirito grinned. "You're both crazy."

"If you're chatting, let's see about that fun," the guild leader growled. "Mage corps! Blast them!"

Three mages in the back began to chant a spell and Michael grinned at Kirito.

"All you," Michael grinned.

Kirito grinned then looked back at Asuna and smiled as he rested his sword on his shoulders, the blade beginning to glow blue. Then, the mages fired three high-speed spells. Three purple spheres, three glowing blue arrows, and a single glowing white lance all shot toward them, nearly as fast as a bullet in GGO. Almost. The lance was first and Kirito easily slashed it, canceling it. Then, the three arrows and Kirito slashed all three as he did a back flip. Then, the spheres arrived and Kirito slashed all three of them as well as he landed, causing purple smoke to envelop them. It blew away after a moment and everyone stared in shock.

"Did he, slice their spells?" one of Yuuki's guild mates asked.

"He can really hit something moving that fast?" another asked.

"What was that?" the enemy guild leader asked.

"Any high-speed spell is still slower than a bullet from an anti-material rifle, you know," Kirito stated.

"G-Get into battle formation!" the guild leader shouted.

Several Salamanders moved to the front of the guild and Michael chuckled as Kirito opened his inventory.

"We'll handle these guys," Kirito said. "You guys go to the boss room."

As he finished speaking, Excalibur appeared on his back. Michael rolled his eyes as Kirito drew the legendary sword and the players in front of them shrank back at the sight of it.

"Stand your ground!" the leader shouted. "There's only three of them!"

"Four!" a familiar voice shouted from behind the guild as sparks began to fly skyward. "Although, you can't see me!"

"You're late," Kirito called out.

"Sorry," Klein shouted. "I got lost!"

Michael rolled his eyes and turned to the twenty blocking Yuuki's group from the boss door.

"Zekken, Berserk Healer," Michael called out, addressing Asuna and Yuuki by title in order to warn the twenty who they'd have to fight. "don't worry about those twenty. We'll take them too."

"Z...Zekken?" one of the twenty asked and Yuuki waved.

"Berserk...Healer?" another said and Asuna bowed.

"You could always be smart and let them through then fight us instead," Sinon reminded them. "It'd be more fun that way."

The twenty all exchanged worried looks before parting and allowing Yuuki's guild and Asuna through. Once they were inside, Michael laughed.

"And now, you fight the Black Swordsman and myself," Michael grinned. "Kinda wish I had a popular nickname."

"You could always use hacker," Kirito grinned.

"Hell no," Michael laughed. "Then no one would fight me."

Kirito chuckled as the twenty raised their weapons, watching Michael.

"You and Klein take the big group," Michael said. "Me and Sinon will handle these guys before coming to help you mop up the rest."

Kirito nodded and sprinted forward, the massive guild moving to meet them. Michael turned back around, sprinting toward the group. Three male Gnomes sprinted forward, one bearing a black battleaxe with an eye design between the two blades, one with a massive brown tower shield and a plain-looking arming sword, and one with a pair of morning stars. Michael laughed, ducking under a morning star and slashing the player before pivoting and blocking a slash from the one with the sword. He glanced back as the one with the axe swung at him and grinned, leaping into the air, allowing the axe to burry itself in the other gnome who staggered back, shouting in pain. Michael grinned, turning and splitting the axe-wielder up the front, killing him before catching the morning star wielder's left arm and throwing him into the sword-and-shield gnome. Then, he darted forward, sword enveloped in flames. He stabbed them both and an explosion enveloped the three, killing the gnomes. Michael rested his sword on his shoulder, turning to the other players who all stared at him.

"He's...he's the...Knights of the Blood Oath...second-in-command!" one of the players gasped.

"I heard he was really strong!" one of them shouted.

"He can't be that strong," another said. "We just have to swarm him!"

"I wouldn't suggest that," Michael grinned. "Actually, why don't you introduce yourself Sinon."

Sinon grinned pulling her bow back and aiming into the air, releasing an arrow.

"I'm Sinon," Sinon said. "Co-winner of the third BoB tournament in GGO."

The players watched the arrow as it arched down toward them and separated into dozens of arrows.

"Look out!" a player thought to shout, numerous shields going up.

Then, the arrows began to rain down, exploding and killing all but four of the players, who only barely survived.

"So strong!" one of the four gaped. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael," Michael grinned. "And you, are my next four targets."

The four of them turned to run just as Michael's shadow shot out from under him, rising as his doppelganger on the opposite side of them. They all skidded to a stop as it began to walk forward and they looked to Michael who was leaning on his sword.

"Better pay attention," Michael warned.

The players turned back around as the doppelganger sprinted forward. It slashed two, killing them before the third blocked its sword and the forth attacked. The doppelganger spun around the blade, splitting the fourth before stabbing the third. Then, it returned to Michael and he and Sinon turned back to the rest of the guild, finding Kirito and Klein easily wiping it out, thanks to their skill and the very large power gap between them and the guild.

"This is almost boring," Michael sighed.

He sprinted into the fray, slashing any player he could reach and glowing arrows killed anyone he passed. After a few minutes, he cut his way into a circle that had formed around Kirito in time to see Excalibur smash through a player's sword and kill the player before Kirito spun, slashing at Michael, mistaking him for an enemy. Michael blocked it, his elucidator showing no sign of being damaged by Excalibur and Kirito raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry about that," Kirito grinned before spinning and slashing an attacker just as Klein entered the circle and Sinon flipped over the ring of players, landing in the middle of the three. "Looks like we're surrounded."

"Shame," Michael grinned. "I was hoping for a challenge. Klein, Sinon, please refrain from simply wiping them out using area of effects."

"Alright," Klein sighed. "It's more fun this way anyway."

Kirito grinned as Sinon stuck her tongue out at him. Then, she drew her dagger and grinned. Michael sprinted forward, slashing two characters and blocking a lance, then glanced sideways to see Sinon catch a sword in her bow, as the boss they had gotten the bow from had done to Michael, and pulled the player onto her dagger, killing him. Michael grinned, ducking under a slash and stood, splitting the character before his sword began to glow blue.

"This might be fun after all," Michael grinned.

He slashed three players then spun, slashing a sword to block it and slashed the owner. Then, he jumped, flipping over the players and removing two heads before landing and spinning, slashing two more players before a sword slashed him across the back. He spun, slashing the character then freezing for a moment. A lance sprouted from his chest and he spun, knocking the player into another before stepping off the spear and spinning, grabbing it and flipping the player over his head, slamming him down on another player as the player tried to attack. Then, he released the spear and stepped aside, allowing another player to impale himself on it as he tried to slash Michael from behind. Michael spun, slashing a row of them before spinning, blocking the guild leader's sword.

"You seem to be very good at mob battles," the guild leader said. "You redirect opponents attacks into each other. But let's see your one on one skills."

"You remind me of someone I knew," Michael grinned as he narrowed his eyes. "And I hated him more than anything in existence."

And with that, he shoved the sword aside, grabbing the guild leader and hurling him into the other players before slashing him, ice exploding out of the leader's back and killing several players behind him before the ice shattered and the leader followed suit. Kirito landed beside him a moment later, blocking a pair of swords and grinning.

"You kill the leader?" Kirito asked.

"He reminded me too much of Archon," Michael shrugged. "Count?"

"Lost track," Kirito said.

"Same," Michael grinned. "Bet I'm winning though."

Kirito laughed, shoving the swords away and slashing the players then stepping aside from a stab. Michael caught the spear under his arm and kicked backward, hitting the spear's wielder then flipped the spear into the air. He slashed two players who were trying to fight him together before catching the spear and smashing it into the side of a third player's head, flipping the player over other then hurling the spear, impaling him. Then, Michael spun, he and Kirito trading places in time for both to avoid a slash then kill the other's attacker. Both held their swords to their opposite side as they began to glow orange, then spun around each other, sending out a wave of flames in a circle that killed more than a dozen players. They stopped looking around. Klein, thanks to his swords special ability, was mowing down lines of players, and Sinon was expertly switching back and forth between slashing players, beating them with her bow, throwing her knife, and shooting players, retrieving her knife any time she passed it, which she was careful to always do.

The last ten players all stopped, backing away from the three and Michael grinned.

"So," Michael grinned. "Which should we hit them with?"

"You're the one who wants a title right?" Kirito asked. "You hit him with your strongest."

"Happily," Michael grinned.

His doppelganger rose in front of him and Michael stepped up beside it, both raising their swords.

"W...What is that?" one of the players gaped.

"It's a doppelganger," Michael grinned. "Just watch."

Michael sprinted forward with his doppelganger, each slashing a player across the chest. Then, they stabbed the next player. Two stepped forward stabbing at Michael and his doppelganger, one with a sword and one with a morning star. Michael and his doppelganger leapt over the players and split up the back as they flipped. Then, they landed on their feet, Michael's sword glowing white. He darted forward and slashed at one of the last four but his doppelganger remained where it was. The character Michael slashed died, followed by the next. Then, Michael stabbed his sword into the ground, leaning on it. He glanced at his doppelganger and the other two looked just as the doppelganger blasted through both and flipped, landing on the other side before returning to Michael.

"That was fun," Michael grinned. "Think they cleared the boss yet?"

"Not yet," Kirito smirked. "It'll let us know, remember?"

Michael smirked and rolled his eyes just as an announcement stated that the twenty seventh floor boss was defeated. They all walked to the door, pushing it open to see Yuuki's guild and Asuna cheering in the middle of the room.

"Hi guys!" Asuna shouted. "Come on! We're leaving!"

They all hurried over and went up the stairs to the next floor, stepping out into a large green field.

"Wow," Yuuki breathed looking around. "It's massive."

"We should head to the nearest city to save," Michael stated. "It's this way."

He flew into the air and the others followed him to the city. Once inside, they all saved their progress and Yuuki's guild and Asuna all teleported back to a lower floor to celebrate.

"I'm glad things worked out," Sinon said. "So, now what?"

"Now, I think I'm going to have to log out," Michael said. "I'm probably getting hungry by now."

Sinon nodded and Michael logged out.

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	57. Chapter 57

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Celebration

Michael sat at the table and listened as Asuna explained Yuuki's condition to him. Michael waited silently, nodding once in a while as she talked. When she finished, he remained silent, thinking.

"There's no known cure for AIDS," Michael stated. "And there's no way to cure the disease she has...I didn't realize she was that bad. I figured out already that she was using a Medicuboid, but still...She's strong, to be so cheerful with that kind of a situation."

Asuna nodded, looking out the window at the others. They were having a barbecue to celebrate the SLeeping Knights victory over the twenty seventh floor boss and there were a lot of people there. In addition to Yuuki's guild and Kirito's usual group of friends, Eugene, Sakuya, Alicia Rue, and Recon were all also present. Sakuya and Eugene were on much better terms than before, but were still avoiding each other, for the sake of not starting a fight, and ensuing war. Recon was staying a safe distance from Leafa so he could essentially but harmlessly spy on her and was getting even more furious as Leafa spent time with Tecchi, the Sleeping Knights' Gnome tank. It was obvious they were just friends, but Recon wasn't very good at judging character. Michael would have to give him a hand with that. Klein was flirting with Alicia Rue, who was clearly just flirting for fun, though Michael doubted Klein knew that. Nori, the Sleeping Knights' female Spriggan damage dealer, was making fun of Talken, the Sleeping Knights' Sylph damage dealer for avoiding the females. Michael chuckled and looked back to Leafa, seeing she had noticed Recon, probably not for the first time, and was trying to get him to come over and talk to her and Tecchi. He was having none of it.

"They're quite a crew," Michael grinned. "So are we, of course."

Michael turned to Asuna and grinned.

"Think they'd let our team tag along for the next boss?" Michael asked.

"Probably," Asuna grinned.

"I'm gonna go find Lisbeth," Michael grinned. "Somebody has to save Klein from Alicia before he makes a fool of himself."

Asuna laughed and nodded.

"I'm going to find Kirito," Asuna said. "See you."

"Yeah," Michael nodded as Asuna left. "Strea."

"Yes Master?" Strea asked, climbing out of his pocket and sitting on his shoulder.

"Can you do me a favor and start looking into Kayaba's death?" Michael asked. "Specifically what he was trying to do and why he failed?"

"Of course Master," Strea nodded. "Though, that might take me a while."

"It's alright," Michael smiled. "Just, try and hurry as much as you can without making any mistakes. It has to be perfect or it will fail."

Strea nodded and disappeared in a flash of light. Then, Michael pushed off the wall, walking out to the party and finding Lisbeth already saving Klein.

"Hey Lisbeth," Michael smiled walking over and she looked over at him in curiosity. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor and compare a few weapons for me."

Lisbeth nodded and they found Kirito and Eugene, taking them all to the blacksmith workshop in the house where Lisbeth worked on their gear before a dungeon raid.

"Alright," Lisbeth said. "Throw them on."

Michael set his Elucidator on the anvil as Kirito set Excalibur on and Eugene set Gram down. Lisbeth tapped each with a hammer then raised an eyebrow.

"Well, as far as power goes, as expected Excalibur takes it," Lisbeth stated. "However, it would seem that, after I upgraded your Elucidator with that ultra rare ore the other day, the Elucidator and Gram are actually tied. However, given Gram's ability to pass through weapons and shields, I'd give Gram the advantage and even go so far as to say that it's about tied with Excalibur for effectiveness."

"I dunno," Michael grinned. "It was chopping through swords pretty easily when we fought that guild."

Kirito smirked and nodded and Lisbeth shrugged.

"As it stands, your sword is third," Lisbeth said. "But it shouldn't break ever so."

Michael nodded and they all picked their swords back up as Klein set his down. Lisbeth checked it then smirked.

"Fourth," Lisbeth said. "It has less power than Michael's."

Klein nodded, happy enough having the fourth strongest sword in the game. He put his away too and Michael, Kirito, and Eugene left as Klein, drunk out of his mind, began to try to flirt. Michael looked back to catch a blush on Lisbeth's cheeks before she slapped Klein.

"Oh yeah," Michael grinned. "They're gonna get together."

Kirito nodded, grinning just as they got outside, finding the Sleeping Knights waiting with their weapons.

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"We're heading to the twenty eighth floor dungeon," Yuuki said. "You coming?"

"You know it," Michael grinned.

Michael went back inside, telling Klein and Lisbeth where they were going and the two hurried out, equipping their gear before they all flew off, leaving the others behind. As they flew, Michael looked back and grinned. Leafa was talking to Recon, who looked to be about to pass out his face was so red, and Silica was talking with Alicia Rue.

"How come Leafa and Silica aren't coming?" Michael asked.

"Only seven max for a team to be put on the monument," Kirito stated. "So they chose to hang back."

"Well now I feel bad," Michael stated.

They reached the teleporter and teleported to floor twenty eight and Yui led them to the dungeon. Once there, they landed and sprinted inside. They sprinted down the passages and killed anything they met for roughly ten minutes before stopping, staring up at the door.

"Well that was easy," Michael blinked. "These guys are weak."

"Or we're just awesome," Klein said.

"Are you still drunk?" Lisbeth asked.

"Yes," Klein said hanging his head.

"What's this boss?" Asuna asked, looking to Michael.

"I don't know," Michael admitted. "I didn't do this one."

He walked forward, pushing the door open and the others walked in before Michael sealed the door. Just as he did, an enormous crab crashed down in the center of the room, three health bars filling.

"A crab?" Michael blinked. "I let them handle a floor and that's the best they can come up with?"

The crab shrieked, opening its mouth and webbing sprayed out, hitting Michael and sticking him to the door.

"What the..." Michael blinked, trying to move but unable to. "Hah hah. Spider crab. I get it. Freaking hilarious guys."

Asuna hurried over, cutting him free just before the crab fired more at them. They both dodged it and sprinted back to the others. They fanned out around the crab and it swiped at them with one claw. Tecchi blocked it with his shield and was sent flying.

"It's not fast," Michael stated. "Hit it!"

He and Yuuki leapt at it, both using their OSS on its back but neither made a dent. They leapt back, avoiding sprays of webbing as Agil slammed his axe into the crab's leg, the axe bouncing off. Sinon fired an explosive arrow, hitting it in the underside and the explosion flipped the crab as well as taking a good chunk of its health.

"Hit its stomach!" Michael shouted.

Klein acted first, slashing the ground as his spectral arm did the same, a wall of flames shooting out and hitting the crab, dropping its health considerably.

"Let's go!" Kirito shouted, as he, Asuna, and Nori all leapt onto its back, hitting it with a flame spell.

The crab shrieked, flipping itself back over and spinning, sending webbing spraying around the room.

"Look out!" Michael shouted.

Klein again acted first, blocking the webbing headed for them with his spectral arm then grinned as all of the girls cheered. Then, Jun, Talken, and Tecchi sprinted forward, slashing the crab underneath, an explosion shooting out its back. Michael sprinted forward, jumping and stabbing the crab in the eye and it dropped to its last health bar.

"This boss was easy," Michael sighed as he landed. "All you Yuuki."

Yuuki leapt over him, landing under the crab and hitting its stomach with her OSS. Then, she leapt back, landing with her guild as the crab shrieked one last time and shattered.

"That just wasn't even fun," Michael sighed. "Well, at least we cleared a floor."

"True," Kirito nodded.

They all sorted through their winnings and walked to the door, opening it and stepping out ino the next floor.

"Well...that was not satisfying at all," Michael stated. "Yuuki, rematch."

Yuuki laughed, as did the others but she nodded and they both raised their swords. They charged forward, but instead of fighting as they usually did, Both started out with their OSS. And this time, just as Michael was hit with Yuuki's last strike, his doppelganger appeared behind her. She turned to look and blocked its sword as Michael charged. Then, he skidded to a stop as she grinned and a massive purple giant with two heads, four arms, chains around its waist and held in its lower set of hands, and two enormous spiked wooden hammers in its upper set and a jewel between the necks appeared in front of him.

"Tell me this isn't-"

"It's the twenty seventh floor boss," Yuuki grinned.

"Great," Michael groaned before leaping back from a chain that blasted along the ground in front of him.

He raised his sword as Yuuki easily dispatched his doppelganger. Then, she leaned on her sword as Michael usually did when letting his doppelganger fight. The giant swung its hammer at Michael and he rolled aside, standing and slashing its hand but it simply wrenched its hammer free of the ground and swung its chain at him again. He jumped over the chain and a hammer hit him in the back, smashing him into the ground. The giant roared, lifting its hammer and Michael stood, staggering before grinning.

"Now this is more like it," he grinned, extending his wings. "This is fun!"

He flew at the giant, slipping past a chain and hammer before blasting into the giant's abdomen with his OSS. The last strike made it stagger back and Michael's sword began to glow orange as he flew forward. He split the giant diagonally across the abdomen, an explosion blasting out of its back, forcing it back again before Michael blasted into the giant with his horizontal square. It staggered back again, yanking one of the chains up between its heads and grinning. Michael spun just as the chain wrapped around him and the giant swung him around, smashing him into the ground. He groaned, wiggling his left arm out of the chain and slamming his fist into the ground. His shadow spread out from his arm and formed a massive circle before the shadow grew into the massive reptilian silhouette thing. The giant turned toward it, chain releasing Michael and Michael stood as the silhouette punched the giant in the right head. The giant staggered back a step then stepped forward, taking the shadow's head off with its hammer. It turned back to Michael as Michael summoned his doppelganger again. The two of them sprinted forward, flying at the giant and slashing it across the chest. it roared, backing away and swiping at them with both chains, its arms crossing over the gem.

"There it is," Michael grinned. "The gem."

He avoided the chains but his doppelganger was caught and ripped in half by the chains. The giant uncrossed his arms and Michael flew at it, sword glowing green. He avoided the chains and a hammer and blasted into the gem, sword first. Nine attacks hit the gem one after another. Then, just as he moved to stab the giant's weak point and kill it, the giant's left hammer slammed into his head, blasting him into the ground and killing him.

"Oh come on!" Michael shouted as the giant faded and everyone laughed, Yuuki walking over and reviving him. "I was so close."

"Yep," Yuuki grinned. "But you lost."

Michael rolled his eyes then smirked.

"Just wait til I kill the next floor boss," Michael grinned.

Everyone laughed before flying to the nearest city and teleporting back. Within about three minutes, Klein was proclaiming Yuuki's greatness to any who would listen, and two minutes later, Eugene was laughing at Michael for losing to a summon. After a while longer, people began to leave. Just as Michael was about to log out, he overheard Leafa talking about a race. It was between herself, Nori, and Yuuki to see who could fly fastest. So, naturally, when they left, Michael went with them.

"This can be our tie breaker," Michael said, flying up next to Yuuki.

"When were we ever tied?" Yuuki laughed.

Leafa grinned back at him.

"Yeah Michael," Leafa grinned. "You've lost to a girl every time you've fought one recently."

"Not true," Michael said. "I beat Strea."

"Technically Strea's not really a girl," Leafa laughed, having met Strea once. "Besides, she wanted out so she let you win. She could have deleted your avatar."

Michael grumbled about not having been talking to Leafa in the first place and the other three laughed, finally stopping at the starting point.

"First one around that floating island and back wins," Leafa said as Talken waited off to the side to decide the winner if it was close. "Ready, set, go!"

All four rocketed off, shooting through the air in blurs. Yuuki began to slowly fall behind as they flew but Nori proved to be quite quick, keeping neck and neck with Leafa for the most part, even passing her a couple of times only to fall back again. As they rounded the island, Michael grinned and went full speed, catching up to Leafa slowly. He breezed past Yuuki, coming up level with Leafa's feet and slowly creeping past her. However, just as he was about to pass her, a massive dragonfly flew out from behind a floating island they were passing into Michael's path, causing him to crash headlong into it, killing both himself and the dragonfly. The other three all slowed nearly to a stop as they laughed, crossing the line in the order they had been in, Leafa, Nori, and Yuuki, before Yuuki flew over, reviving Michael who crossed his arms and scowled at a group of the dragonflies as they flew away.

"What was that about not losing to a girl every time?" Leafa laughed.

"Shut up!" Michael huffed, making them laugh harder.

"Better luck next time," Sinon laughed, landing on the island beside him. "You logging out?"

"Yeah," Michael sighed. "I got work tomorrow."

Sinon nodded, and they flew to the nearest city and saved before logging out.

* * *

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	58. Chapter 58

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Way Out

"Anything?" Michael asked as he and Strea sat in a small virtual space he had created for their research.

"Kayaba's attempt seems to have been a success, though I cannot seem to locate his consciousness," Strea said. "I believe it may have only been a temporary success, and it disappeared after meeting with Kirito in Yggdrasil."

"Alright," Michael nodded. "I'll keep looking. You keep looking into perfecting the method."

Strea nodded and returned to her work as Michael did the same.

* * *

"I found him," Michael grinned. "That sneaky bastard. Alright Kayaba, get in here."

A moment later, Heathcliff was standing in front of him and Strea, rubbing the back of his head.

"Looks like I've been found out," Kayaba said. "Does this mean I can't play?"

"No, you can play," Michael smirked. "But you do realize the danger of you being there, right?"

"Oh I know," Heathcliff nodded. "So, any progress?"

"A little," Strea nodded. "I'm just having trouble getting the configuration right. The process is too slow. That's why it was such a risk for you."

"I see," Heathcliff nodded. "Well, I'll help you solve that, if I can."

Michael nodded and Heathcliff was covering in light, returning to his real life appearance and opening up a screen, getting to work right away.

* * *

"I think we've got it," Kayaba stated. "The problem is output and power. For mine, it simply wasn't high enough. The NerveGear certainly isn't high enough."

"But I know what is," Michael stated. "Right, Strea?"

"Yes Master," Strea nodded. "It should work, with a bit of tampering."

"Tampering?" Michael asked.

"It's not much," Strea said. "I can walk you through it there."

Michael nodded and sent the data, and Strea, to his laptop. Kayaba returned to being Heathcliff and left, and Michael logged out. Then, he got up and got dressed quickly. He called Asuna and she answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" Asuna asked.

"It's Michael," Michael said.

"I got a message saying her condition changed," Asuna said. "I'm going to see her. Can you let Kazuto know?"

"Sure," Michael nodded. "But Asuna, I did it."

"You did?" Asuna asked. "You're sure?"

"Ninety percent," Michael said. "We'll be cutting it close though."

"It's good enough for her to decide," Asuna said. "Let Kazuto know and meet me there."

"Already on my way," Michael said then hung up, sending Kazuto a short message explaining that his research had finally payed off and about what was going on.

Then, he put his phone away. A few minutes later, he reached the hospital at the same time as Asuna, both running in, Asuna leading Michael to Yuuki's room. There was a doctor and two assistants in the room already and they walked in, looking around at them.

"About forty minutes ago, Yuuki's heart stopped momentarily," the doctor said. "We were able to restart it but, she doesn't have long."

"Is she awake?" Michael asked.

Just as he did, Yuuki's eyes slowly opened and she looked at him and Asuna, who knelt, taking her hand.

"Yuuki," Michael said. "I might have a way to save you, but I'm leaving it up to you since if I fail, it will kill you."

Yuuki blinked and simply stared at him.

"I may be able to transfer your consciousness into your ALfheim Online Avatar permanently," Michael said. "Your body would die, but you could live in the virtual world. As I said, it's not a hundred percent guaranteed that you will survive, though. If I fail, you die, probably very painfully."

Yuuki managed to smile and squeezed Asuna's hand slightly.

"Do it," Asuna nodded.

Michael set his computer on the bed beside Yuuki and opened it. Strea appeared on the screen with a simplified version of the data that he could read without having to think about it.

"Your job is easy," Strea said. "Plug the computer in so I can remove the safeties then rewrite the output programming as I tell you."

Michael nodded, plugging his computer into the medicuboid and a box of binary code appeared, shifting rapidly. After a couple of minutes, Strea began to speak and Michael typed rapidly, too fast for Asuna to keep up with and she barely understood a work that Strea was speaking. After what seemed like forever, Strea finished and Michael unplugged the laptop.

"That should do it," Michael said.

"One last thing," Strea said. "You need to remove the inhibitor lens. Otherwise, it'll slow the process too much."

Michael nodded, opening a panel on the medicuboid and carefully pulling out circuit boards before pulling out a tiny piece of glass and putting everything else back. He closed the panel and looked at Strea.

"That's it," Strea said. "Now she just needs to log on one last time."

Michael nodded and Asuna stood.

"Sir, may I use the AmuSphere?" Asuna asked.

"Of course," the doctor nodded and Asuna hurried out of the room while they got the medicuboid in place and began to start it up.

Michael knelt beside Yuuki's bed and took her hand in place of Asuna. She was clearly scared but she managed a weak smile.

"You should come out at the tree and Asuna's going to be waiting for you," Michael said.

"It's ready," the doctor said.

"Ready?" Michael asked.

Yuuki blinked and squeezed his hand, barely able to do even that, and the doctor turned the Medicuboid on, loading ALfheim Online.

"There's a second AmuSphere in the room through the door on the left," the doctor said. "You should hurry. She'll want to thank you in person when it works."

Michael nodded, standing and hurrying through the door, putting the second AmuSphere on and sitting against the bed where Asuna was laying. He logged into his profile and a moment later he was standing on the island with the tree. There were hundreds of fairies present, from all races. It seemed as though he was the last one to show up. There wasn't even room to stand on the island, it looked like. However, as soon as someone noticed him, the crowd parted and the island cleared of everyone who wasn't either in the Sleeping Knights or one of Kirito's friends. Michael landed and saw the others standing in front of him, Asuna watching him with tears running down her face. Then, she smiled and stepped aside, allowing Yuuki to literally tackle Michael, laughing happily and hugging him.

"It worked!" Yuuki shouted happily. "I get to live here now!"

Michael grinned, standing with Yuuki and gave her a brief hug before she stepped back, smiling up at him.

"Thank you so much," Yuuki bowed.

"Well, I couldn't let you die before I beat you, could I?" Michael smirked. "I'm glad it worked. However, you should know, if you die again, you won't respawn. If you die, you're gone."

"It's alright," Yuuki said. "You still gave me more time than I had. And now I can get stronger. But, does that mean I won't have a remain light?"

"Not sure," Michael said just as Strea appeared on his shoulder.

"You will," Strea said. "But your revival chance will be much shorter than normal, so if you aren't revived right away, you'll die."

"That's better than the Sword Art Online deal," Kirito smirked. "But we'll have to be careful now."

"We'd have to be careful anyway," Michael said. "So, where we having the celebration?"

Yuuki grinned and looked to Kirito and Asuna who both nodded. Then, everyone on the island cheered.

* * *

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	59. Chapter 59

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Retry

Michael stepped up to the door of the dungeon and stopped, looking around. The Sleeping Knights and Kirito's group stood behind him, all ready to go. with them stood Eugene. Michael grinned and looked at Yuuki.

"The moment you get low on health, get distance and wait for Asuna and Siune to heal you," Michael said.

"I know," Yuuki said rolling her eyes. "It's not my first fight since being saved you know."

Michael smirked and rolled his eyes, nodding.

"Alright," Michael smirked. "And just remember, if I can't summon one after this, I'm going to be very angry."

With that, he drew his sword and sprinted into the dungeon, the others following. They all ran until they reached the room with the waterfall and the two Fatal Scythes emerged from it. This time, the thin pathway extended into a full floor and the door sealed behind them. Michael turned to try to open it but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh boy," Michael gulped. "That can't be good."

He turned back around, summoning his doppelganger as Eugene summoned his along with the Day of the Dead boss, Yuuki summoned the twenty seventh floor boss, and Leafa summoned the gorilla she had gotten a while back.

"That might be enough," Michael grinned. "Yuuki, hang back for now. Just keep resummoning yours when it dies."

Yuuki nodded and all of the summons, along with Kirito, Michael, Eugene, and Klein charged at one of the Fatal Scythes while the others charged at the other one, along with the gold minotaur Asuna had killed in Thrymheim, Yuuki, Asuna, and Siune hanging back so they could heal anyone if needed and not worry about Yuuki being killed.

Michael flipped over the scythe and it tore through Yuuki's summon's legs after splitting his doppelganger in half. Michael rolled his eyes, flipping and activating his OSS from one side as Kirito, who had been using SkillConnect, did the same with Excalibur on the opposite side. After a moment, both stabbed the Fatal Scythe and it roared in pain, grabbing both and beginning to squeeze. Klein's sword tore through it, followed by the spectral arm's, and it released them. Michael landed on Yuuki's summon's hammer and leapt off, activating his OSS again, this time on the Fatal Scythe's skull. It eyes rolled around and around as it shrieked in pain. When Michael finished, its health was barely a sliver. The Fatal Scythe reached up for him just as one of Michael's long unused knives began to glow red.

"Only two uses is fine with me!" Michael growled, slashing the Fatal Scythe and spinning, knife tearing through the Fatal Scythe three times before he spun the other way, stabbing it and sending flames exploding out the back of its head.

The Fatal Scythe backed away, shrieking in pain and slashing through the group, launching everyone except Yuuki's summon. That lost its legs and fell to the floor, roaring in rage. Michael stood as Kirito sprinted forward, meaning to finish the Fatal Scythe.

"No way," Michael growled pulling out his bow and drawing it back with his sword. "It's mine asshole."

He let go of the sword and it streaked past the others, slipping past Kirito and hitting the Fatal Scythe just before Kirito's sword, forcing the Fatal Scythe back and out of the way of Kirito's slash. Kirito landed and looked back at Michael, grinning and rolling his eyes then running to help the others as the Fatal Scythe Michael had shot shattered. Michael chanted a spell and fired at his sword, using the same spell Sinon had caught Excalibur with to retrieve his sword. Then, he also sprinted at the other Fatal Scythe.

The others reached it before he did, and began to attack it. However, as it reached the red zone, it began to glow red as darkness as thick as smoke began to curl off and hurled them all away, reducing all of the Sleeping Knights to Remain lights, along with Agil, Lisbeth, and Silica, and leaving everyone else who was within reach at a sliver.

"Damn," Michael growled as Siune and Asuna's spell began to heal them.

Yuuki's summoned giant charged past, crashing into the Fatal Scythe with its hammers and Michael stood, summoning his own Fatal Scythe. It charged at the other, attacking it with the giant but the now glowing one seemed to have grown much stronger than Michael thought it had, since both summons died after a minute.

"Kirito!" Michael shouted. "Excalibur!"

Kirito slid the sword to Michael as he pulled his bow out and he lifted it, pulling it back.

"Too heavy for me to wield huh?" Michael smirked. "Fine then."

He released it but just before it hit, the Fatal Scythe slashed it out of the air, making the sword stab back down beside Kirito's head. Michael stared at it for a moment before standing and switching back to his sword. His doppelganger rose beside him and both sprinted forward.

"I hate Fatal Scythes," Michael growled.

He leapt to the side, his doppelganger going the other way as the Fatal Scythe's blade crashed down between them. Then, they stood, leaping at it, Michael activating his OSS. His sword tore through the Fatal Scythe's skull rapidly but just before he could finish it, it backhanded him and his doppelganger, launching both away. Then, Silica leapt up in front of it, driving her dagger into its skull, ice exploding out of the back of its head, killing it. She landed on her feet and smiled as everyone cheered. Then, she summoned it and Michael did a facepalm. It was still glowing, and had its power boost, unlike his, making it stronger than his.

"Hah!" Eugene laughed. "Even when you win you lose."

The floor began to shrink again and they all gathered on the original bridge again as the waterfall slowly stopped, revealing a room filled with treasure and armor. Michael walked into it, looking through everything until he found a black cloak with black metal splits down the outsides of the sleeves and black pauldrons. He added it to this inventory and compared it to his current cloak, whistling and equipping it. It added nearly fifty percent to his defense and twenty to his offense while adding fifteen percent to his agility.

"I like it," Michael grinned inspecting himself. "Want the old one Kirito?"

"Pass," Kirito said. "I like mine better. Besides, I don't like green."

Michael shrugged and broke his cloak down, getting three different ultra-rare materials from it.

"How do you keep getting those?" Lisbeth gaped seeing what he got over his shoulder.

"I dunno," Michael shrugged. "They're yours though."

He sent them to her as Klein turned to leave only to stop, eyes wide.

"What?" Kirito asked looking and dropping a gold sword he had been looking at.

The bridge they needed to use to leave, had a huge blue minotaur with black fur on its legs and a massive blue cleaver in its right hand.

"It's..." Klein breathed.

"Gleam Eyes," Kirito gaped. "What the hell!?"

"Um...so...about surviving this dungeon..." Michael said. "I think our chances just plummeted.

"How strong is it?" Kirito asked.

"As strong as the one on floor seventy four," Yui stated.

Michael and Silica both sent their Fatal Scythes at it but its sword split both in half instantly. Asuna sent her minotaur as a distraction but the Gleam Eyes, simply picked it up by the throat and dropped it off the bridge.

"Oh boy," Michael breathed. "Should I..."

"Probably," Kirito nodded.

Michael opened a binary code window but Klein caught his hand.

"We can take it," Klein growled. "After all. We were unprepared last time too."

"Did you see what it did to those Fatal Scythes?" Michael shouted.

"We only have to knock it off the bridge," Klein said. "And even if we die, we just need to ensure Yuuki makes it out alive. The rest of us are safe."

Michael nodded and opened the binary code window again, tapping quickly before closing it and extending his wings.

"We can fly in this dungeon now," Michael said. "Yuuki, we'll create an opening. While we do, you and Leafa need to get out."

"Why me?" Leafa asked.

"In case there are monsters in the dungeon now," Michael said. "We're going to stay here and fight this thing. Should be fun."

"I'm going with them," Sinon stated.

Michael nodded as he, Klein, Kirito, and Eugene flew at the Gleam Eyes. The moment their first attacks hit the massive creature and made it stagger back, Leafa, Yuuki, and Sinon sped past it. It spun, slashing at Yuuki much too fast for her to avoid, but just before it hit her, Jun shoved her out of the way, being split in half.

"See you outside Yuuki," Jun smiled before becoming a Remain Light.

Yuuki nodded, continuing with her escorts and Michael attacked the Gleam Eyes again. He refrained from using his OSS since he knew it would hold him in the same place too long. He avoided the Gleam Eye's sword and free hand as much as he could while Kirito attacked it from the other side and Eugene from behind it. Their attacks hit the creature every time but barely left a dent no matter what they used. Klein used his sword's special ability to blast it with a double fire-type skill but it barely did any damage. Finally, the Gleam Eyes managed to slap Michael, smashing him into a wall but not quite killing him. He pushed himself out of the wall as Siune and Asuna healed him and raised his sword again, summoning his Fatal Scythe to help out as Silica did the same. Then, he shot toward the Gleam Eyes, slashing it across the back in time to stop it from splitting Kirito in half. It spun, throwing a punch at him but Eugene shoved him out of the way then split the Gleam Eyes arm to the elbow. It roared in rage and the wound disappeared.

"I always did hate this thing," Kirito growled.

"Just wait," Michael smirked. "This is good practice for the floor boss."

He glanced up at its health bars and his eyes widened. He had forgotten the regenerative factor. They had literally done nothing because however much damage they did, the Gleam Eyes simply regenerated.

"We're not even hurting it!" Michael shouted. "It's just regenerating."

Suddenly, it spun, splitting both him and Kirito in half before grabbing Eugene and biting his upper body off before smashing Klein into a wall, killing him.

"Well, at least Yuuki got away," Asuna said.

"Right," Siune nodded. "We were so far out of our league."

"Oh yeah," Asuna nodded as the Gleam Eyes opened its mouth. "See you back in town."

Then, the Gleam Eyes roared and blue flames shot into the treasure room, killing everyone else.

* * *

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	60. Chapter 60

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Glitches

Michael looked around, confused. They should have respawned to town, but instead he found himself standing in the middle of a forest, glowing red eyes watching him from the bushes.

He sighed, drawing his sword as tiny gnomes wearing red tube caps and suspenders began to sprint out of it at him. They were all armed with miniature swords and all very quick. Michael spun, slashing a pair of them before blocking a sword and leaping into the air as two swords passed under him. He split the gnome whose sword he was blocking open and flipped to the ground, drawing his left knife and stabbing a second gnome with it. He put the knife away, spinning and mowing down an arc of them before extending his wings, flying into the air. He looked down at the swarm of at least fifty as they watched him. He couldn't help but grin.

"What's the matter?" He taunted. "Can't reach?"

The gnomes all sprouted wings and Michael began grumbling about annoying games. Then, he turned, beginning to fly away, the gnomes following, now numbering much more than fifty. A cloud of them followed him. He turned, switching to his bow and firing three arrows that split into five fireballs each, blasting a good number of the gnomes in front but the cloud broke out of the smoke instantly. Michael switched back to his sword, growling in frustration just as the gnomes reached him, a few at a time. He blocked two swords, slashing them before spinning, slashing another below himself. Just as the next group reached him, Klein appeared off to one side of the cloud, slashing with his spectral arm, both blades launching a wall of flame, thinning the cloud instantly. A group branched off to fight him as Kirito appeared in front of him, one sword across his shoulders, blade glowing forest green. Michael snorted in amusement, activating his OSS as well, tearing through the gnomes around him. His last hit ended the group around him just as Kirito finished his attack, activating the same with his other sword.

"You bastard," Michael growled, waiting for his movement penalty to end as two gnomes flew at him.

Eugene appeared in front of him, slashing both before looking back at him.

"Thanks," Michael sighed, finally regaining the ability to move as Kirito finished the last of the gnomes with a third use of Michael's OSS. "Anybody know where the hell we are?"

"More or less," Kirito nodded pointing.

Michael turned to look and saw a massive column on the horizon.

"We're in New Aincrad?" Michael blinked. "The hell did that happen?"

"I dunno," Kirito shrugged. "Yui, any ideas?"

Yui didn't respond.

"Yui?" kirito blinked, looking in his pocket, eyes widening.

"She's with Asuna," Strea said, appearing on Michael's shoulder.

"Oh," Kirito sighed. "So, do you know how we got here then?"

"It seems like there are small glitches happening all over the Virtual World, not just in ALfheim Online," Strea said. "You'll probably notice a couple of things until it's fixed. but I can't tell what's causing it."

"Maybe there's just a problem with the servers," Kirito suggested.

"Maybe," Strea said, sounding unsure. "Anyway, we're on level six right now."

"Alright," Kirito nodded. We should get back and make sure the others made it back to town okay."

Michael nodded and they flew out of New Aincrad, turning back toward town. When they landed a few minutes later, they found Yuuki, Leafa, and Sinon waiting.

"There you are," Sinon sighed. "Where were you?"

"We respawned in New Aincrad floor six," Michael stated.

"New Aincrad?" Sinon blinked. "Okay then. So...where are the others?"

"We were kind of hoping they were here," Kirito said.

"We're here!" Asuna's voice called out from off to the side.

They turned to look and saw Asuna and the Sleeping Knights flying over and landing. As soon as they did, Yuuki leapt at Jun with a hug. Jun blinked in surprise as Yuuki stepped back, beaming at him.

"Thanks for saving me," Yuuki smiled.

"Oh...um...well...yeah," Jun said, scratching the back of his head. "Couldn't let you die now, could I?"

Yuuki smiled and Michael turned to look down a street off to one side, hiding his grin as Jun's reaction. Just as he did, he spotted Recon ducking behind a building and his grin widened.

"What are you grinning at?" Leafa asked.

"Your not-so-secret admirer is here," Michael grinned, nodding toward the building.

She sighed, resting her hand in her face just as something above them roared. They all looked up, eyes widening as Wyverns began to fly down at the village, landing on the buildings and attacking the various players and NPCs in the streets.

"What the hell?" Asuna blinked as one swooped down at them.

Yuuki leapt into the air, killing it then landing in front of them, looking up.

"I thought towns were safe," Yuuki said.

"They're supposed to be," Michael said. "This must be one of the glitches Strea mentioned."

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "Well, shall we play exterminator?"

Michael nodded and they extended their wings, flying into the air with the others, spreading out to defend the town, dozens of other players flying up around them to help. Michael flew at a group of Wyverns that seemed to be stuck together by a glitch, since they were all trying to fly in a different direction but the group as a whole was following a single Wyvern's flight path. Michael flew past the group, slashing two of them before turning, ducking under a stream of flame as Sinon shot an arrow down the attacking Wyvern's throat, killing it. Michael flew at the group, slashing the one leading the others and killing it, allowing the others to fly their own directions, all four winging back around at him. He sighed, sword glowing blue and flew forward, flipping over the first, sword slicing through it from head to tail before he spun under the second, slashing its stomach twice before the third and fourth flew at him, Michael flipping over both and slashed their necks. As his ability finished, he noticed the problem. None of the four had suffered damage. His sword had simply passed through them.

"Um...Strea, would you mind trying your sword on those four?" Michael asked as they swung back around at him, Sinon's arrows passing through them harmlessly.

Strea appeared in front of him, flying forward and slashing the first wyvern, sword splitting it open but its health failed to drop.

"Looks like I can't hurt them either," Strea said, a similar reaction occurring when she attacked the other three.

All four reached Michael and he attacked them again. This time, his attacks dealt normal damage and all four shattered a moment later.

"I hate glitches," Michael growled, flying off with Strea to fight another group.

* * *

Leafa spun and slashed another Wyvern, redirecting it away from herself, once again failing to kill it, though Agil did that for her when the Wyvern neared him.

"God this is so annoying!" Leafa shouted. "Quit stealing my experience!"

"If you want, i could form a team with you so you can get experience from either of our kills," Recon offered, flying up behind her.

"Have you killed any?" Leafa asked.

"Well...I was thinking we could weaken them for each other," Recon said.

"Sure," Leafa nodded. "Send the invite."

Recon nodded, face glowing with joy as he opened his menu and Leafa activated an ability, slashing her sword and sending out arcs of wind, blasting a Wyvern, once again failing to kill it. Just then, she got the invite as Recon flew out to meet the Wyvern as it flew at Leafa. She accepted just as Recon flipped over the Wyvern, slashing it and finishing it. Leafa grinned as she gained experience for the first time that fight and nodded to Recon.

She turned, slashing several Wyverns, sending them all at Recon. He shouted in surprise and fear before beginning to chant a spell, sending out small blades of wind, killing the Wyverns. Then, he drew his dagger, slashing a Wyvern and sending it at Leafa, who slashed it across the face, killing it. She heard wings behind herself and turned as the Wyvern's claws streaked toward her. At the last second, Recon shoved her out of the way, the claws tearing through his side as his glowing black dagger slashed the Wyvern, which imploded into a small black sphere which faded a moment later.

"You okay?" Leafa asked, flying over to Recon.

"They pack quite a punch," Recon stated pulling out a healing potion and drinking it.

"What was that ability?" Leafa asked.

"It was a Gravity Magic sword skill," Recon said. "I hadn't tried it yet."

"Looks like it works," Leafa grinned.

Recon nodded, smiling as Leafa hugged him.

"Even though it's just a game, thanks for saving me," Leafa smiled, pulling back to see Recon's face painted red and adorned with a silly grin. "Now focus, Lover Boy. We have more lizards to kill."

Recon shook his head and nodded, making Leafa snort and shake her head in amusement.

* * *

Klein ducked under a Wyvern, slashing it then turned to fight another as a female Sylph with long green hair and a japanese style kimono flew up beside it, jabbing it repeatedly with a rapier, killing it.

"Why thank you, Milady," Klein said, bowing low. "Will you do me the honor of allowing me to ask your na-"

He was cut off by Lisbeth's mace slamming into his head.

"Ow!" Klein shouted. "What the hell?"

"Do you ever stop flirting!?" Lisbeth demanded.

"Well...I was...um..." Klein trailed off, realizing she was right.

"God," Lisbeth sighed. "You're useless and blind."

"What do you mean blind?" Klein asked. "What do I not see?"

"It doesn't matter," Lisbeth sighed. "Just focus on killing the Wyverns so I can log out."

She turned and flew off, leaving Klein floating there, thoroughly confused.

"Having trouble?" Michael asked, flying backward past him, positioned so it looked like he was lying on his back.

"Why is she mad at me?" Klein asked. "And how am I blind?"

"If you have to ask, you are blind," Michael grinned. "But I'll give you a hint. Have you ever stopped to consider who it is you _don't_ flirt with?"

Klein looked at him confused and Michael grinned.

"And I'm not talking about guys," Michael stated. "Just think about it. It'll come to you."

Michael flipped over, turning and splitting a Wyvern's head before flying off to rejoin Strea and Sinon.

"Who I...don't flirt with?" Klein blinked confused before shaking his head. "Whatever. I'll figure it out later."

* * *

Nori flipped over a pair of Wyverns, smashing her staff into them both before spinning as flames shot toward her. Before it could hit her, Talken grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way before quickly killing the Wyvern with his lance. Three more flew at them and Talken flew around her, making short work of all three. Then, he stopped, sighing looking over at her.

"You know, you're pretty handy," Nori teased. "Maybe that's why we keep you around."

"Th-Thanks," Talken smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Then again, you do stutter a lot," Nori sighed. "You gotta loosen up or you'll never have confidence around girls."

"S-Sorry," Talken said, shoulder sinking.

Nori sighed, flying over and placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for the save," Nori smiled. "Let's go show these lizards who's boss."

Talken nodded, blushing furiously and unable to speak. Nori chuckled at his reaction and flew off, Talken following after a minute.

* * *

Yuuki slashed three Wyverns as they passed and Jun flew up behind her, blocking a stream of flame with a shield he had borrowed from a player nearby. She smiled back at him then spun around him, stabbing the Wyvern and killing it as Jun hurled the shield back.

"What are you my personal guardian now?" Yuuki joked.

"Absolutely," Jun nodded, slashing a Wyvern as it passed, noticing his sword not wounding it. "Uh oh. Glitch."

Yuuki looked as the Wyvern flew through several players, not affecting them, then got hit by Strea's sword, a wing coming off, inflicting bleeding damage but not actually harming it. Then, it bit a Sylph player, killing them and flew at Yuuki and Jun. Yuuki flipped over the dragon as she and Jun both slashed it, neither of their attacks harming it. It turned, flying at them again, breathing fire at them. Both avoided it and the Wyvern moved to slash Yuuki. Jun appeared in the way, sword blocking its claws before both of their swords stabbed it, finally damaging and killing it.

"Finally," Jun sighed as their wings began to dull. "Looks like we're almost out of flight time."

"That's going to complicate things," Yuuki sighed, looking around at the dozen or so still flying around, most not able to be harmed. "You know, if you keep protecting me I'm going to start owing you."

Jun shook his head, smiling just as his wings disappeared and he began to fall, Yuuki catching him.

"Um, thanks," Jun said, blushing slightly as Yuuki laughed, floating to the ground.

* * *

Michael flipped over Wyvern he, Sinon, and Strea had been trying to harm for five minutes. Just as he cleared its arch, his avatar began to blur.

"Shit, now what?" Michael grumbled.

A moment later, his Avatar was his GGO avatar, and he began to fall. Sinon caught him and he pulled out his Optical Rifle, beginning to fire at the dragon, the shots actually damaging it, killing it after a couple of seconds. Sinon landed and Michael looked down at himself and sighed.

"I hate glitches," he grumbled, opening a binary code panel and switching back to his ALfheim Online avatar.

Sinon snorted in amusement just as her bow was replaced with her Hecate II. She raised it,, killing a Wyvern before Michael switched it back for her.

"Well, this might get a bit interesting," Sinon grinned, pointing as a gigantic white and blue caterpillar inched its way over.

"Please help me," it said with Siune's voice.

Michael covered his mouth, snorting and then bursting out laughing, Sinon and Strea following suit.

"Please stop laughing," Siune pleaded.

Michael fell onto his back, rolling around while Strea composed herself, switching Siune's avatar back as Klein walked over with his Sword Art Online avatar.

"These glitches are starting to get on my nerves," Klein grumbled. "I fell from the top of the bell tower."

Michael nodded, completely understanding, and looked up as the last Wyvern suddenly grew blurry.

"Oh boy," Michael sighed as the others ran over, all of them having something wrong with their Avatars except Yuuki.

Strea began to correct the glitches and Michael drew his sword, stepping forward as the Wyvern transformed into a massive black and yellow dragon with glowing red eyes.

"Well...fuck," Michael sighed. "This aught to be entertaining."

He extended his wings, flying into the air and at the dragon, Sinon and Yuuki following, Jun just behind them, carrying a sword looking a lot like his but roughly the size of Silica's dagger.

"Nice piece Jun!" Michael called back, flipping over the dragon's tail, flying up its front, slashing it the entire way.

"Shut it Hacker!" Jun snapped, slashing the dragon rapidly with his minuscule sword, happy to see the damage remained unchanged.

Yuuki flew up in front of the dragon's face, activating her OSS, jabbing the dragon in the face eleven times before its left forefoot swung at her. Before it could reach her, Kirito flew up, blocking it with both of his swords. Then, Asuna appeared beside Yuuki, grabbing her and flying away as the dragon's other foot swiped through the area. They all stopped, floating around it as a massive red circle with symbols in it appeared behind it, several dozen fireballs appearing behind it. They fireballs flew out, targeting people seemingly at random, Michael getting the pleasure of five. He flew over the city, the fireballs closing in rapidly. He flew between two buildings, the fireballs exploding against them before he flew back up. The only fireball to not hit a building or the ground streaked up at him, hitting him in the back and exploding. He dropped several feet before catching himself, growling in annoyance. He looked left, seeing Recon being healed by Leafa after shielding her, and Jun being healed by Siune after doing the same for Yuuki.

"Alright that's it!" Michael shouted. "OSS party!"

Kirito and Yuuki grinned, nodding and the three of them flew up to the dragon's head, all three arriving at the same time as Asuna and Eugene. Michael and Kirito activated Michael's OSS as Eugene activated his own, and Yuuki and Asuna activated Yuuki's. The five sword skills tore into the Dragon's head and within the third hit from them all the dragon shattered and their swords all met, deflecting each other and stopping them all.

"Finally," Michael sighed. "Now that that's over, I think it's time for me to go to bed. Starting tomorrow, I have to visit the rest of the Sleeping Knights."

"Alright," Yuuki smiled as Michael landed and logged out.

The others all did the same one by one and Asuna told Yuuki she was welcome to stay at her and Kirito's house since she was the only one that actually had to live in the Virtual World for the moment. Then, Asuna logged out too and Yuuki left, leaving only Klein and Lisbeth.

"I'm sorry for making you angry," Klein said as Lisbeth opened her menu.

"You don't even know what you did do you?" Lisbeth asked.

"I assume it has something to do with me flirting with everyone," Klein said.

"Do you know why?" Lisbeth asked.

"Not exactly no," Klein said.

"I thought not," Lisbeth sighed. "I forgive you. I'm sorry for getting mad. I just...never mind."

"Why don't you tell me why it made you mad?" Klein asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lisbeth asked, giving him a mischievous smile before logging out.

Klein sighed, also logging out, still as confused as before.

* * *

Read and review.


	61. Chapter 61

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Celebration

Michael leaned against the wall, grinning from ear to ear as Sinon leaned on his chest, both surveying the other attendants of the party. Michael had successfully transferred all of the Sleeping Knights except Siune, who had gone into full remission of her leukemia. The party was to celebrate the Sleeping Knights no longer needing to be disbanded. They had allowed Asuna to join the guild and had agreed that she would also go with her normal group of friends, which the Sleeping Knights seemed to have become a part of now.

Despite the official reason for the party, it was becoming apparent that several of the guests had other reasons for being there. Lisbeth, for example, had asked Michael and Sinon for advice of how to make Klein finally understand how she felt about him, which wasn't exactly an easy task, given the fact that Klein was playing man servant for most of the female guests.

"Lisbeth has her work cut out for her," Sinon grinned.

"She'll get him," Michael grinned. "After all, she can be almost as hard headed as Klein."

Sinon chuckled and nodded.

* * *

Lisbeth dragged Klein away from Nori and Siune and into Kirito's house, practically throwing him down on the couch then crossing her arms, glaring at him.

"What the hell?" Klein asked.

"I've had it," Lisbeth growled, veins sticking out of her temples from agitation. "You're completely hopeless!"

"I'm sorry," Klein sighed. "I don't mean to flirt with everyone. It's just what I do."

"You're an idiot!" Lisbeth snapped. "You don't flirt with everyone."

Klein blinked in confusion.

"Well yeah, Kirito and Michael would kill me if I flirted with Sinon or Asuna," Klein said. "And Strea's a little to weird for me to-"

"That's not who I meant," Lisbeth growled, growing more agitated.

"Well, Silica's a bit too young for-"

"I meant me!" Lisbeth snapped, making Klein blink in surprise.

He opened his mouth to respond as things finally started to click into place in his head.

"You...were mad because...I wasn't flirting with you?" Klein blinked as Lisbeth sighed, staring at the floor.

"You really are an idiot," Lisbeth sighed. "Can you really not figure it out?"

She looked up at him as he stared at her in amazement.

"What?" Lisbeth asked.

Klein grabbed her hand and pulled before she could react, making her fall onto his lap. The moment she landed, his lips met hers. For a moment, she kissed him back, then she pulled back, blushing furiously as she slapped him.

"I-Idiot!" Lisbeth stammered. "You can't j-just k-kiss a girl like that!"

"Really?" Klein grinned, leaning a little closer. "Then maybe you should get payback."

Lisbeth's face turned crimson, but she leaned forward anyway, kissing him. After a couple of minutes, they broke apart to breath and she glared at him.

"You flirt with anyone else again and I'll kill you," Lisbeth growled.

"I won't," Klein promised. "But, I'm curious. Why me?"

"You were the first person to pay attention to me like that," Lisbeth blushed. "I liked it. But, then you stopped, and I got jealous. And mad."

Klein smiled, pulling Lisbeth into a hug.

"Well, now you have my attention fully," Klein smiled.

Lisbeth smiled as well just as giggling reached both of their ears.

* * *

They looked toward the door as Yuuki and Nori sprinted away from it, both covering their mouths to stifle their excited giggles. Finally they stopped grinning at each other.

"About time," Yuuki grinned.

Nori nodded and glanced at Talken who was sitting alone, staring at a pint of beer. She sighed, shaking her head and looking to Yuuki.

"Honestly he's about as useless as Klein," Nori sighed. "Just for the opposite reason. He's so nervous around girls that he can't even function."

"Maybe you should stop waiting for him to make the first move," Yuuki said. "Now that we all live here, maybe it's time for you to try something new for the first time since you two met."

Nori sighed and nodded as she spotted Jun walking toward them.

"I think you might be due for a new experience yourself," Nori grinned, turning and flying over to Talken's table, landing in the seat across from him, watching him as he began to panic and stammer out a question something along the lines of "why are you here?"

"What, I can't hang out with my favorite Sylph?" Nori asked, grinning.

Talken's face turned pink and she grinned.

"That cup looks full, even though you ordered it a while ago," Nori said. "Scared to drink?"

"N-No!" Talken stammered. "It's not the first time!"

"I know," Nori grinned. "I've gotten you drunk before. I had hoped it would make you loosen up and calm down. I kinda hoped it would get you to make a move but you never did."

Talken's mouth dropped open and he stared at her.

"W-What?" Talken asked.

Nori's cheeks turned a little pink. She wasn't used to talking about her feelings either, though she wouldn't let that stop her. She had waited years already. And she was tired of waiting.

"Honestly, how hard is it to ask a girl out?" Nori sighed.

"Very!" Talken said. "W-What if she says no?"

"So what?" Nori asked. "At least you tried. I mean really. If she can't see what she's passing up she doesn't deserve you."

She blinked in surprise, cheeks turning pink again as Talken's entire face flushed.

"U-Um...th-thanks," Talken said, face darkening.

"A-Anyway," Nori stammered. "You gonna drink that or do I have to help?"

"Y-You can have it if you w-want it," Talken stammered.

"Why?" Nori asked.

"U-um...n-not in the m-mood," Talken said.

"You going to ask a girl out?" Nori asked grinning.

"N-No," Talken said shaking his head.

"Why?" Nori snapped, not understanding what she had to do to get Talken to try something.

Doubt began to set in. Maybe Talken really was just nervous. Maybe Nori had been wrong after all. Maybe they had all been wrong.

"Am I not pretty enough for you?" Nori demanded, Talken's eyes widening in surprise. "Is there someone else? It's Asuna isn't it? No, wait, it's Yuuki. It is isn't it? Well you-"

"You're wrong!" Talken interrupted, making Nori fall silent. "I-I just thought you didn't like me."

"Idiot," Nori said, blushing slightly but sighing in relief internally. "I've been waiting for you to ask me out since we first joined this gang."

Talken's face flushed again and he began to try to speak.

"D-D-D-D-D-Do y-y-y-y-you w-w-w-w-w-want-"

He stopped when she kissed him for a moment, just to make him shut up.

"Do you really have to ask?" Nori grinned.

Talken's face turned crimson as Nori kissed him again.

* * *

Yuuki watched Nori walk away and turned, nearly walking into Jun as he walked up behind her. She stopped herself and smiled.

"Hi Jun," Yuuki smiled. "You need something?"

"Um, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime," Jun said staring at his feet. "Now that we're not going to be splitting up any time soon, I figured...maybe we didn't have to just be friends anymore. I know you said no last time but-"

"Sure I'll go out with you," Yuuki smiled.

Jun blinked in surprise before looking up at her. She smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back.

"Alright," Jun smiled, nodding. "I heard there was a place to the west of Arun that was good for picnics."

"Alright," Yuuki smiled nodding. "That sounds like fun."

Jun smiled nodding and Yuuki stepped forward, hugging him.

* * *

Leafa sighed, resting her hand in her palm.

"Recon," Leafa sighed. "How long are you going to sit there and watch me from the shadows?"

Recon swallowed, stepping out from behind the house, blushing.

"I swear, you're almost as bad as Talken," she smiled. "Come on. Come sit down."

Recon walked over, sitting down at the table and glanced at her before looking to the table. Leafa watched him impassively. He had been going back and forth between avoiding her and spying on her ever since the Wyvern had attacked the town. She was getting tired of it, as she had hoped to be able to talk to him sooner.

"Listen, Recon, I've been thinking," Leafa began.

"I'm sorry Leafa," Recon interrupted, forehead on the table. "I promise I'll stop bothering you."

"You're not," Leafa smiled, making him look up at her. "Don't worry, I'm not telling you to leave me alone. I've been thinking recently that I miss hanging out with you like we used to. Ever since Kirito started playing, you and I haven't really spent any time together, except in large groups, or with Kirito around. I miss hanging out with just the two of us. But then, I started to think. All this time I've been ignoring you, and you're still waiting for me, aren't you?"

Recon's face turned pink but he nodded, eyes never leaving the table.

"So, why haven't you asked me out then?" Leafa asked.

"Because you don't feel that way," Recon stated. "You said so last time."

"Yes, that's true," Leafa nodded. "I did say that. But then, for some of us, feelings change."

Recon blinked in surprise before looking up at her. She nodded and his eyes widened before a mile spread across his face.

"So then..." Recon began but trailed off and stared at the table again. "This is just because you feel left out with everyone else starting to date someone isn't it?"

"Maybe," Leafa admitted. "But I don't think so."

Recon's smile slowly grew back and he nodded before blushing and looking at the table again.

"So...um...what do we do?" Recon asked.

Leafa blinked in surprise before covering her mouth, giggling.

"You could start with a date after school tomorrow," Leafa suggested.

Recon smiled and nodded and Leafa rolled her eyes.

"You've got no idea what to do do you?" Leafa asked.

Recon blushed and shook his head.

"Alright," Leafa smiled. "I can fix that easy enough."

She checked the time and sighed.

"I should log off," Leafa sighed. "I'll see you after school, okay?"

Recon nodded and Leafa smiled then logged off, Recon doing the same soon after.

* * *

"Well, it's official," Sinon grinned. "Things just got a whole lot more entertaining."

Michael nodded, grinning as he pulled up his menu, checking the time and sighing.

"We should probably log out too," Michael sighed, Sinon nodding. "Alright. I have to work tomorrow so I'll see you after I get done."

"I'll be here," Sinon smiled. "I have tomorrow off so I'll be playing. I'll meet you here around Eighteen, okay?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded as they both logged out for the night.

* * *

Read and review. Next to last chapter. Probably going to make a second part.


	62. Chapter 62

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. I was wrong. There will be a chapter after this.

* * *

Return

Sinon exhaled, firing her sniper rifle and blasting one player in the side of the head then another in the side, killing both, then smirked before the world around her twitched and blurred then returned to normal again. Sinon looked around, raising an eyebrow before shrugging standing and slinging her rifle across her back and opening her menu.

"I should probably get some food," Sinon sighed. "It's nearly noon. I think I'll head into ALfheim after that."

She opened her options menu and froze, staring at the empty slot. That couldn't be right. The logout button couldn't really be gone. Surely it was a mistake and the word just wasn't showing up.

She pressed the slot. Nothing. She pressed it again. Nothing. She jammed her finger into it hard repeatedly. Repeated nothings.

"What the hell is going on?" Sinon breathed just as the massive screen tower that had been added to the city for announcements lit up with a face.

The face was tan with a broad jaw, a pair of glowing red goggles, a black cloak with the hood up, and a black chest plate. The face stared out at the world silently for nearly a full minute before speaking.

"The time has come my brothers," the face spoke, an evil grin spreading across it, displaying his pointed teeth. "No longer will we wait in the shadows. It's time to reveal ourselves! It's time to remind the world who we are! It's time for Laughing Coffin to rise again! Go! Slaughter and kill as you please! Show the world our power!"

The screen went to static for a moment before the Laughing Coffin symbol appeared on the screen and a recording of a distorted, demonic laugh began to play. Then, screaming began. Sinon raised her rifle, looking at the city through the scope. It was a blood bath. Players were slaughtering each other in the streets.A payer was riding down one street with a pair of M16s, mowing down fleeing players as he passed them. On another street, a player was hurling grenades into buildings, blasting players by the dozen. On a stairway leading up to the city, Behemoth raised his minigun, a Laughing Coffin symbol displayed proudly on his shoulder. A dozen or so players turned to flee from him but he opened fire, mowing them down in seconds before leaning back, beginning to laugh. Sinon lowered her rifle, eyes wide with fear.

"Oh God," Sinon breathed. "Please no."

She turned, looking around as a group of players riding in dune buggies sped toward her, hooting and hollering and cheering. Prediction lines began to light up around her and she dove to the side, bullets beginning to fly past. She drew her machine pistol and pulled out a grenade. She hurled the grenade, hearing it explode and several players scream then turned, sprinting away while shooting at the other buggies. She saw a player fall out of one but then had to focus on running as bullets began to hit around her again.

"This can't be real!" Sinon gasped as she ducked behind a low wall just before a second later a buggy sailed over her, her vision lighting up red. "Michael!"

* * *

Read and review. Okay, the next will be the last, and **_there will be a second part if I get enough reviews or PMs for one._**


	63. Chapter 63

I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.

* * *

Death Game

Michael stared at the screen. Work had stopped. Everyone was gathered in the office, or the lounge, or the main room and all the screens were on the same news report. One that Michael was the only one to truly understand the full gravity of.

"It's time for Laughing Coffin to rise again!" PoH was saying on a piece of footage from Gun Gale Online less than five minutes ago. "Go! Slaughter and kill as you please! Show the world our power!"

Michael's hand, which had been holding a drink from a convenience store just down the road went numb, the drink falling to the ground and exploding, sending the drink all over, though no one noticed. The image of PoH's face on the announcement screen cut to the Laughing Coffin emblem as a demonic laugh began to ring out, most likely through the entirety of the game, and Michael expected, every other Virtual World as well. Explosions and screams began to ring out in the city as players began to run around, or drive around, killing other players rapidly, some with machine guns, some with explosives, some with pistols, some by throwing them off of buildings. The camera zoomed in on one couple who were kissing. Then, out of nowhere, the girl drew a pistol and put a bullet through her boyfriend's head. The camera panned around to a stairway where a player, who was undoubtedly Behemoth, slaughtered at least a dozen others with his minigun before beginning to laugh. Then, the camera panned around to something so very much worse. A singe female player with green clothes and blue hair being pursued by dune buggies.

"Sinon," Michael breathed, feeling his entire body go numb with fear.

Sinon used a grenade to blow up one of the buggies then turned to run as bullets hit around her. Then, the video cut out and returned to the reporters.

"Sources say that the organs of players who were logged into the Virtual World and were killed following the message stopped functioning in real life," one reporter said. "It is unknown how, but it seems like in-game deaths are causing real life deaths again, just as with Sword Art Online."

"Hang on," the other said, listening for a moment on her earpiece. "Bring it up on-screen."

A video of PoH appeared again. His sadistic grin constantly in place.

"Hello world," PoH greeted. "My name is PoH. And I am the leader of Laughing Coffin. For those of you wondering about the legitimacy of the footage you've been seeing on the news, I can assure you, it's real. Every person that dies in a game from now on, will also die in real life. For months now, my guild has been working on a...let's call it a virus. I had three of the four best hackers in the world working on it, so I am completely confident you will never be able to destroy it. The virus was uploaded to the Virtual World as a whole, then any AmuSphere or NerveGear, or any other FullDive technology that was linked to the Virtual World was infected. The Virus initially only caused glitches in the Virtual World as it was spreading. Once it spread to the FullDive technology, however, it created a Sword Art Online paradox. It rewrote all of the safety programming so that any and every FullDive technology will microwave the wearer's brain if they are killed in-game. In addition, if the helmets are removed or lose power, the same will happen. The logout function for the Virtual World as a whole has also been removed. No one inside will ever escape, except by dying. But don't worry. I know there will be people that don't believe me. So I'll give you proof. The image split in half, with half of it being PoH, and the other half being a video camera over a sleeping person. The person, was Seijiro Kikuoka, the man in charge of investigating the Sword Art Online incident and helping the survivors after they were finally released.

"Allow me to introduce Seijiro Kikuoka," PoH said then stepped to the side, revealing a player being held on his knees behind PoH, head bowed and a pistol to the back of his head.

PoH grabbed the player by his hair, forcing him to look at the camera, revealing it to be Kikuoka.

"Look familiar?" PoH sneered. "Tell them your name."

"You bastard," Kikuoka snarled. "You know full well you're going to be stopped."

"I think not," PoH sneered. "Well World, keep watch carefully."

The pistol fired, killing the avatar. The Amusphere on Kikuoka's head instantly began to glow and smoke. Kikuoka began to spasm, frothing at the mouth for a moment before falling still. Whoever was holding the camera held up a portable heart monitor, placing it on his wrist to show that it worked, and that he was perfectly calm, then placed it on Kikuoka. It flatlined instantly.

Michael spun, sprinting out of the building and to a motorcycle nearby that had the keys in the ignition. He started it up and sped off toward the hospital, pulling out his phone and dialing Kirito, asking him to meet him there. He put the phone away and sped up, speeding through the streets, knowing no one would bother to pull him over right now. He reached the hospital in record time, abandoning the motorbike without bothering with the kickstand, and sprinted into the hospital to the waiting room for the ER, finding Kazuto, Asuna, Agil Lisbeth, Klein, Silica, Suguha, Recon, and even Eugene, Alicia Rue, and Sakuya there. Eugene, Sakuya, and Alicia Rue actually all looked almost exactly like their avatars, minus any fairy or Catsy characteristics.

"Michael," Kirito said. "Laughing Coffin...they..."

"I know," Michael growled walking past them to the room where Kirito had been during the Death Gun incident. "He turned the entire Virtual World into Sword Art Online."

"What do we do?" Kirito asked, the others all following Michael.

Michael was silent until they reached the room, finding the Amusphere was still present.

"I'm going in," Michael stated, turning to them. "Sinon is in there. I...I have to save her."

"We understand," Kirito nodded. "But, what about the virus?"

"Once I get Sinon somewhere safe, I'll start working on it from in-game," Michael said. "You and Agil will be helping me. Also, I'll need someone to keep anyone from pulling me or Sinon's plug. And Sinon will have to be brought to the hospital."

"Right," Kirito nodded as Michael loaded Gun Gale Online, logging in and laying on the bed, putting the AmuSphere on then looking at the others. "Good luck."

"Be careful," Asuna said. "And save help Yuuki and the others."

"Kick his ass," Klein said. "And bring Sinon home alive."

"We'll take care of things here," Agil promised.

"No one's pulling my second-in-command's plug," Eugene stated.

"Good luck," Recon said.

"Come back safe," Suguha said.

"You can have Pina when you get in there," Silica said. "Just keep her safe, okay?"

"I'm sorry you're in this situation," Lisbeth said. "Do us all a favor and kill Johnny black and PoH."

"The Sylphs that are in the game and aren't Laughing Coffin are yours to command," Sakuya said. "I'll send the message as soon as you're in."

"Same for the Catsy," Alicia Rue said.

"And the Salamanders," Eugene said.

"One more thing," Kirito said. "Please take care of Yui while you're in there."

Michael nodded, looking at each one last time before closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

"Link start," Michael said, hands trembling.

Then, he was pulled into the game.

THE END

* * *

Read and review. I'll post the name of the second part once it's up.


	64. Chapter 64

The sequel is called "Virtual War"


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